Someone Like You
by JD Bloom
Summary: AU. Blaine wanted to believe that the blonde boy he'd seen at McKinley wasn't Sam, but what if it was? Blam centered, but will include all of the Warblers!
1. The Spy

**AN: My summary for this fic is crap. I initially began writing this as a Warblers story, but halfway through it I decided to make it about Blaine and Sam so it will be AU. While their storyline will be the center of the story, most of the more well-known Warblers will be featured as well. This is still in it's developing stage, so it might change as I write it. Anyways, I hope you all give this fic a chance! Reviews would be lovely!**

**JD Bloom**

* * *

><p>"Hey, quiet down!" Nick Duval yelled from in front of the choir room. The room was full of boys, high on energy after having just done one of their impromptu performances in the senior's hall. This had become a routine ever since finding out they'd be competing this year for the third time in a row for Sectionals. The dark haired boy looked as Luke Wright and John Dempsey were in the middle of a rock-paper-scissors game while others cheered them on. Across from them Trent Nixon and Nicholas Hudson were arguing on who got to sit down in the only sofa chair in the room. Nick took a deep breath, hoping he could calm down the room before Wes Montgomery, David Thompson and Thad Harwood, the council of the Warblers, returned to the room.<p>

He gave his best friend, Jeff Sterling, a panicked look. Both had been asked by Wes and David to bring the Warblers into the choir room while they dealt with something. Blaine Anderson, their lead singer, had left with them and they managed to catch someone else, a boy with brown hair, walking with them towards the common area.

"Kind of makes you wish Wes was here with that damned gavel," Jeff said trying to put some humor into the situation while looking at his nails. "Do you think this one is oddly shaped?" He held up his pinky finger towards Nick's face.

"Could you be serious for a moment?" Nick asked annoyed at Jeff. "We're still under probation for hiding Wes' gavel."

"Right," Jeff replied quickly. "We could always use this." Jeff had pulled out a small stink bomb from his uniform's pocket.

Nick glared at him before shaking his head. "Do you come from a public middle school? Besides we need them to quiet down not suffocate."

"Just a thought," Jeff said before taking out his cell phone. He was about to take a picture of Cameron James trying to do a headstand when a voice spoke up behind him.

"Jeff, the Warblers have a strict policy on the use of cell phones during rehearsal," Thad's voice came out very stern and serious as always from behind him.

And just like that the room went from being full of wild and loud boys to the civilized, preppy boys they were.

"That's more like it," Thad spoke again looking at everyone in the room before looking back at the empty table in front.

"Where are Wes and David?" he asked. Doing a double take on the room he added, "And Blaine?"

"Um," both Jeff and Nick began. Everyone else began to question as well the whereabouts of the other two-thirds of the council and their soloist.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile on the other side of the building, Wes and David walked ahead of Kurt with Blaine following behind. They opened the big oak wood doors to the common room area of the Locke building they had just performed at. David and Wes led the other two boys to the coffee table on the right side of the room.<p>

"So what school do you come from, Kurt?" Wes asked as he motioned for him to take a seat on one of the empty tables. Blaine left to get them something to drink.

"McKinley High School in Lima," Kurt said while taking a look at the big study hall he was in. Wes and David shared a surprised and knowing look, but quickly composed themselves. Blaine came back with latte's for each one of them and took a seat.

"That's a long drive," Wes said.

David asked, "Isn't that where one of our competitions for Sectionals is from?"

"New Directions," Kurt clarified nodding, even though he wasn't sure why. He didn't know why he'd listened to Puck when he'd suggested he come spy on the Warblers. At first he'd been angry at the fact that they hadn't even considered his Diana Ross number. He'd also been angry with Mr. Schue for not letting him be part of the girls' team for the second time. But then he decided it wouldn't hurt to check out the competition. Especially when the competition involved a school made up entirely of boys. At this precise moment he was having doubts about whether he really thought this out through entirely.

Sure he had managed to sneak in past the front desk boy when he went to the back of the room for some papers. He'd managed to locate a map of the school grounds at the further end of the hall and had found the choir room in the building called Locke. Getting there had been fairly easy since no one was on the school grounds until he entered the Locke building. He'd found it very crowded and had ended up following two boys up to the second floor. This was when he decided it was probably time to leave and try another time. Yet the excitement that flowed through the air was something he had not seen or felt ever since he made the kicking goal for the football team last year. So abruptly he'd asked someone what was going on. That's how he ended meeting Blaine who led him towards a grand room where he witnessed what was perhaps in his mind a spectacular performance. It didn't hurt that the lead singer was very cute, even if it had lacked the flashiness of a performance that Kurt was such a fan of.

After the performance instead of leaving unnoticed with the rest of the boys making their way to class he stayed. He wanted to compliment the lead singer, Blaine, on his performance. Especially, after all those looks he had kept throwing at him. There was no way this boy was straight, Kurt told himself even though he didn't know much about him. Yet before he could go up to him, a tall African American boy and a slightly shorter Asian boy had come up to him.

"Hi, I'm Wesley Montgomery and this is David Thompson," the Asian boy spoke first handing his hand out to him.

"I'm Kurt Hummel," Kurt had replied clutching his bag before shaking their hands.

David had shaken his hand as well, grinning. "Why don't we go for a walk?"

"Guys," suddenly Blaine's voice came from behind them. They turned to see Blaine there standing, looking at them and then at Kurt. "Oh, I see you've already met."

"Yes," Wes replied motioning towards the door. "Come. I've already asked Nick and Jeff to redirect the Warblers to the choir room."

And that's how he currently found himself sitting down with three boys from the opposing school, having coffee as if nothing was wrong.

"Latte?" Blaine asked when he came back, sitting next to Wes and David after they had taken their drinks from him.

"It's very civilized of you to invite me for coffee before you beat me up," Kurt said in as-a-matter-of-fact tone taking the cup.

"We are not going to beat you up," Wes quickly clarified calmly.

David smiled as he spoke to Kurt, wanting him to know that they were being honest and simply wanted to talk to him. "You were such a terrible spy we thought it was sort of endearing."

Blaine then cut in by saying, "Which made me think that spying on us wasn't really the reason you came."

Kurt's expression faltered for a second, forgetting that he was in enemy territory before getting straight to the point of something he'd been wondering since seeing them do the Katy Perry number. "Can I ask you guys a question?"

The three dapper boys nodded their head in approval. "Are you guys all gay?"

The three of them laughed, Wes and David glancing at Blaine. "Uh, no. Well, I mean, I am, but these two have girlfriends," Blaine explained, knowing there was more to this kid than met the eye. And he had yet to meet a straight boy who could pull the outfit Kurt was sporting.

"This is not a gay school," David told Kurt, turning serious again. He knew a few of his peers that came to Dalton for that reason. A place to be themselves without judgment from their other peers. Dalton guaranteed that and offered protection. "We just have a zero-tolerance harassment policy."

"Everybody gets treated the same, no matter what they are," Wes said. "It's pretty simple."

Blaine stepped in when he noticed how much this seemed to touch Kurt. "Would you guys, excuse us?"

He recognized that expression and maybe what Kurt was feeling from his own personal experience. Dalton was a sanctuary to Blaine. It was where he'd come after his parents acknowledged the fact that he wasn't safe at his old school. Perhaps the stolen belongings and damaged locker hadn't been enough for his dad, because it wasn't until he and a friend got beat up at a Sady Hawkings dance that he finally took action. His former school counselor had recommended Dalton Academy or to and try to move on, act like nothing had happened. It had been a tough decision for him because he wanted to show those people in his school that no matter what they did or thought about him, it wouldn't change who he was.

He had been ready to go back, until Alex, the other friend who had been hurt, told him his parents were sending him to live to Florida. He would have had the strength to stay had Alex been there with him. So he told his parents to send him to Dalton Academy. There he had been welcomed along with the other handful of boys who were new that year. Then the first week when the school held its annual club fair, he found the Warblers. He'd been part of the Drama club at his former school so being in front of a stage was nothing new to him. And he'd always had a secret passion for singing, so he auditioned and got in.

He was afraid though to admit to the other boys in the Warblers of his sexuality even though the school promised a zero-tolerance against bullying. Eventually though he came to trust and rely on the Warblers who were now his new family.

"Yeah," Wes said, as both he and David got up to leave. "Take it easy, Kurt."

The two Warblers (and best friends) walked out of the common room, leaving by the back, and making their way towards to the choir room.

After a moments silence, David spoke. "Why do you think he thought we were a gay school?"

Wes shrugged, a small smile forming on his lips. "Maybe he noticed the way Thad stared at Blaine _dreamily _throughout the number."

Both boys let out a small laugh as they neared the choir room. "The more important question is what will Blaine do when he finds out Kurt comes from Lima? He's bound to ask about-"

"Yes, I know," David said quickly cutting in. "But this is not our business unless Blaine comes to us. For now, let's just leave it at that."

Wes sighed, before changing the subject. "Do you think Nick and Jeff were able to hold the place down?" Wes asked cautiously as he took a sip of his non-fat latte.

"If they have then they will have proven themselves, just in time for solo auditions for Sectionals," David said to his best friend.

Wes nodded, before they changed a knowing glance. "Of course, after Thad has picked out the songs he wants Blaine to cover."

* * *

><p>"Well?" Thad asked waiting for the two best friends to explain where their lead singer and other two-thirds of the council were.<p>

"We have to reason to believe we were spied on," Nick muttered and the silent room erupted, loud exclamations of surprise and anger.

"Quiet!" Thad called out. "Quiet. Why do you say this Warbler Nick?"

Nick glanced at Jeff, knowing all eyes were on him, "We saw a new kid walking around the hallways before our performance. However, Jeff and I were running late because someone couldn't choose if to wear their black and red tie or red and navy blue tie-"

"I wasn't the one who got caught up organizing their sock drawer," Jeff cut in.

"So you saw a new kid and?" Thad asked impatiently as he moved behind the council table to take a seat.

"Yes," Nick replied before continuing. "Well as we were settling in Oakden Hall for our performance and you were losing your mind trying to find Blaine, we asked Brad who works at the front desk, if a new student had transferred. He said that no and also that no one had signed in as a visitor since he'd left the front desk five minutes ago."

"Nick was tying his shoelaces when Blaine came in with a guy I'd never seen before and he wasn't wearing the school uniform," Jeff cut in again and stopped when suddenly everyone began to mutter that they'd seen the boy as well.

"Order," Thad called. "I know who you're talking about; he stuck out like a sore thumb amongst all the red and blue. Why do you two believe he might be a spy, though? Maybe he was just visiting the school, arrived after Brad left the front desk and Blaine invited him to check out our performance."

Just then the choir room doors opened and in stepped Wes and David. The two of them took their seats, Wes in the middle and David to his right.

"I thought Blaine was with you two," Thad spoke up, motioning for Jeff and Nick to find a seat or stand wherever they could.

"He was. Right now Blaine is taking care of some non-related Warbler issues," David said and Wes nodded.

Thad looked at both of them, before sighing, "Well, then, moving on-"

"Wait, what about the spy?" Trent spoke up.

"Spy?" Wes asked.

"That's what Nick and Jeff told us," James Kirk, a tall junior, with wavy blonde hair added much to Nick and Jeff's horror, and were about to protest, but Wes held his gavel up. This cut the two boys and they quickly closed their mouths.

"You can all be assured that there is no spy," Wes said looking at everyone in the room.

"Kurt was just checking out the school," David added nodding. "And as said it is not related to us, unless he decides to join us at Dalton and become part of the Warblers."

"Moving on then," Thad began. "Now the seniors loved our 'Teenage Dream' performance, next time however, when we say 'Please be at the hall no later than 11am,' we mean it!"

Thad scratched off the bullet point off his notepad. Wes and David glanced at the Warblers who murmured they would do so next time.

"Next item on the list, Sectionals is fast arriving, this year you will be allowed to submit your name to one of us if you'd like to audition," Wes continued on from his own list as he pointed to himself, Thad and David.

Jeff and Nick gave each other a confident smile, knowing that Thad might let it slip how he found the choir room in his arrival. This meant that they'd get an invitation for sure. Of course, this also meant they had to be in exemplary behavior to be forgiven for their last mischief.

This was a big deal for Jeff as it would be hopefully his sixth time auditioning for a solo since he joined the Warblers. Nick noticed how Jeff's expression went from content to thoughtful. They'd been best friends since the sixth grade so they knew pretty much everything there was to know about one another. Even though he knew how much Jeff wanted a solo, so did he. At the same time though, he knew that they'd eventually have to face up to Blaine if they moved on from the first round of auditions. They'd have to as Blaine had been picked as lead singer of the Warblers at the beginning of the year by the council.

Thad tried to keep rehearsal going after they'd gone through their to-do lists and had debated over a few songs for the next hour. It was nearly one in the afternoon, when finally someone pointed this out to him.

"Face it, Thad, Blaine isn't coming," James said impatiently, hand inside his blazer's pocket. Everyone knew he probably had about ten unanswered messages he wanted to check, but didn't want to give Thad a reason to give them the 'No Cell Phone during Warblers Practice' lecture.

Thad gave a sigh and Wes dismissed the Warblers, reminding them to tighten up their ties. A Dalton student _and_ Warbler should always look presentable.

Richard James, the infamous beat boxer of the Warblers, caught up to James, who also happened to be his roommate. James had taken out his cell phone the moment he stepped out of the choir room.

"Who texted during rehearsal?" he asked as both of them made their way to the school cafeteria.

"Three Twitter updates, two from Macy Rove, and one from Susan," James said scrolling through them.

"I thought you and Macy had broken up," Richard pondered just as his own cell phone began to vibrate in his pocket.

"No, this is another Macy," James explained. "She's a senior, the other one was a sophomore."

"Right," Richard said before checking his own cell phone. "Oh, mom's calling. I'll see you back at the dorm."

"Sure," James said continuing towards the school cafeteria for a late lunch; meanwhile Richard made his way outside into the Dalton grounds.

"Yes, mother?" he answered his phone casually, not really finding it an uncommon thing for his mother to call him randomly now and then.

"Well good afternoon to you too, Richard, I am doing fine and you?" His mother, Adelaide Mayor-James, responded back curtly.

Richard rolled his eyes as he took a seat on the steps of the senior building. "How are you, mother?"

"I already told you, I am doing fine."

"Then what can I help you with?"

"Can't a mother call her own son without being suspected of wanting something?"

"Well the last time you called me it was to tell Wes to ask his parents why they hadn't RSVPed for your annual cocktail party," Richard recalled closing his eyes.

"Yes, well that was quite rude of them to RSVP at the last minute." After a moment's pause his mother continued, "Actually there is something I wanted to ask."

_Here we go_, Richard thought, bracing himself for whatever his mother was about to ask for.

"You remember Maddie? We went to Greece with her about ten years ago. Well she's going to be in the city for a while and we thought it would be a _fab_ idea for you to go out on a date with her daughter, Cecily."

"Mom, no!" Richard said quickly. "I have a girlfriend already and just because you don't approve of her, it does not mean that you can set me up in blind dates."

"But Cecily is a nice Catholic girl, Richard!" his mother protested.

"I'm sorry, mom, but no," Richard said hotly, "And I have to go, promised I'd meet James to study in ten minutes. Bye."

He hung up before his mother could get another word out. He got up and made his way back inside Locke building. Just as he stepped in he bumped into Jeff and Nick.

"Hey," both said at the same time to him as they stopped walking.

"Sorry guys can't talk, sort of in a hurry," he said walking towards the end of the hall where the stairs to Benson Hall, the dormitories hall, was.

Jeff and Nick glanced at one another before continuing to walk towards Oakden Hall where they had just performed a few hours ago. They were meeting with Sean Robinson, a senior, who also happened to be the Chief Editor of the yearbook this year.

"There he is," Nick said to Jeff, looking at the middle of the room where a boy with black, messy hair sat browsing through some sample pages of the upcoming yearbook.

"Sean!" Jeff exclaimed as he took a seat next to him.

"What it do?" Sean grinned up at them, before looking back at the papers in front of him. Nick took a seat opposite of him; both he and Jeff waited for Sean to speak again.

"Hey is that Marcus from AP World History?" Jeff asked after a moment or two, looking at one of the pictures in Sean's hand.

Sean nodded before placing the pictures down. "So… you said you needed help in something. But I will make this clear if it involves anyone from the Warblers Council then I can't help you guys. Wes and Thad can be scary, David not as much only if provoked."

Nick and Jeff glanced at one another, before Jeff spoke. "Surprising as it may be, this isn't about the Warblers. Well, not so much. I want to start a band and need help spreading the word."

Sean raised an eyebrow, not quite seeming to understand.

"As manager of said unnamed band," Nick added, "We would like to ask you to help us design a logo and come up with fliers for it."

"But you just said it doesn't have a name yet," Sean countered. "Without a name you won't be able to attract attention. You can't ask a person to join something that hasn't even begun yet."

"I thought that's how clubs were started," Jeff muttered. "Well actually, I did have a name for it."

Nick looked at Jeff surprised, they were best friends and Nick had not told him about this even though they'd spent nearly two weeks already trying to come up with a good name.

Jeff saw the look on Nick's face and quickly spoke, "It just came all of a sudden to me when we passed Richard and I can't stop thinking about it. I really think you'll like it."

Sean looked at the two, who as far as he could remember had never seen separated. "Well, what is it?"

* * *

><p>"Crawford Country Day, eh?" Brad asked late in the afternoon as he glanced at the sign out sheet both Wes and David had just signed.<p>

"Well David and I thought it'd be a good idea to go visit our sisters," Wes said trying hard not to grin.

"That or to get your mack on with Alicia and Farrah," Brad replied back, before dodging a playful punch from David. "How come Thad isn't going with you two?"

"I thought everyone knew?" David asked Wes puzzled.

"Ah, so it's true. He and Sylvia are over?" Brad asked suddenly in a hushed tone looking around the office.

Wes nodded. "He doesn't talk about it though, so whatever you do don't bring her up or Crawford Day for that matter."

"Got it," Brad nodded. "Well, just be back by curfew."

"Will do," David said as they exited the Main Office and stepped outside.

* * *

><p>"Wes just texted saying they're about five minutes away from campus," Farrah Bodella announced as she jumped up from her bed.<p>

Alicia Fisher, one of her two other dorm roommate, glanced from the mirror and muttered, "Awesome."

Their third roommate, Sylvia Brown, eyed the two of them before casually asking, "Is Thad coming, too?"

Alicia looked at Sylvia from the corner of her eye before Farrah responded. "Nope, just Wes and David are coming."

"Good," Sylvia said quickly before walking out of the room.

"I don't think I want to know why she asked that. I thought she broke up with Thad, so why would he come?" Alicia asked.

"Maybe they agreed to still be friends," Farrah said.

Alicia's left eyebrow went up, a look that she gave people when she wanted to say 'Are you insane?' She smiled before speaking, "Everyone knows you throw in the 'I still want us to be friends' line to be nice, but no one is ever still friends with their exes."

"I'm still friends with Jake," Farrah replied trying hard not to laugh.

"Because you went out with him for like two days!"

They were interrupted by a curt "Ladies" from the doorway. Both looked up to find the Head Girl of their floor standing by the door which had been left open when Sylvia left. Head Girls were graduate students who were seeking a job placement at the school. For the past two years, the Head Girl for their floor had been Marissa Samuels. Also known as the feminist converter as she was always preaching about women equality to the girls.

"Yes?" Alicia asked in a sweet tone, a tone that Farrah knew too well.

"You have visitors," Marissa said before turning around and beginning to make her way towards the main building. She knew Farrah and Alicia were behind her, following close by. Both girls kept a straight face even when they entered the main building and spotted their boyfriends sitting down in the waiting area. "Now ladies, I'd like to remind you that you've used two of your three monthly visits and it is hardly the middle of the month."

"We know," Alicia spoke, and rolling her eyes after Marissa turned her back on them.

"Boys, always a pleasure to have you here," Marissa spoke to Wes and David who were now both on their feet. "Now, remember don't break anything or we will have to ban you from the campus. We don't want any repeats from last year."

Farrah and Alicia stifled their giggles, remembering how Jeff had tried to serenade a senior named Katherine. She'd been away on holiday; clueless, Jeff resorted to climbing a tree nearby. In the end he broke her bedroom window and sprained his wrist.

"We promise nothing like that will ever happen again," Wes said, followed by a nod from David.

Marissa nodded before leaving the four teens in the lobby area of the main building. Farrah quickly walked to Wes' arms and Alicia gave David a small peck on the cheek.

"Okay, let's get out of here," David announced as he walked, hand in hand, out of the main building with Alicia, followed by Wes and Farrah.

* * *

><p>"Blaine!" Thad called out, spotting the short boy walking out of the library after his usual late afternoon run.<p>

Blaine who seemed to be deep in thought looked up, before smiling at Thad. "Hey man. Oh, sorry about today's rehearsal… lost track of time."

Thad, who had been looking for the soloist to ask why he had missed rehearsal, suddenly let out a deep breath and sighed. "I- just don't let it happen again, Sectionals is fast approaching you know," he finally said.

"I do," Blaine replied before catching himself humming _"Teenage Dream"_ and stopping. They made their way towards the school cafeteria.

"Well, I presume you already know that you'll be taking lead," Thad broke the silence after a moment.

Blaine looked up at him surprised, before nodding. "I suspected it," he finally said. "But we need two songs for Sectionals."

Thad nodded. "Right now we're just waiting for people to sign up to audition," Thad said shrugging. "Either way, you shouldn't worry about competition; you were elected in the beginning of the year as lead singer for a reason."

Blaine tried not to blush. Both entered the cafeteria which always had people here and there grabbing a quick bite before heading to class. "So what did I miss by the way? I was going to ask Nicholas, but I haven't seen him since I returned back to campus," Blaine said as he sat opposite of Thad at a table for four.

Thad was about to ask why Blaine had left campus, when one the waiters from the cafeteria came to ask them for their order. Both got the Chicken Alfredo and a salad on the side for dinner. "We're considering doing Train for Sectionals. Their song _"Hey, Soul Sister"_ would sound amazing a cappella!"

Blaine was about to tell Thad about what had happened today, but then spotted Richard walking towards them.

"Hey guys, do you mind if I join you for dinner?" he asked.

"Not at all," Thad said motioning for him to sit down.

"Thanks," Richard said taking a seat down. "Fell asleep in the library; forgot it was Madame Boucher's shift, I got woken up by a yardstick hitting against my desk."

Thad and Blaine laughed just as their dinner arrived.

"I'll have what they're having," Richard told the waiter, who nodded and left.

"Do you want us to wait for you to get your food?" Blaine asked as he took a sip of his water.

Richard shook his head. "It's fine, go on ahead. By the way, where are David and Wes?"

Blaine shrugged as he began cutting his chicken. Richard turned to Thad, whom was taking big bites of his salad. After a moment's silence and both Richard and Blaine's gaze on him, he cleared his throat. "I think they went to Crawford Day." He glanced at his watch before adding, "They should be coming back soon though, it's nearly curfew time."

"Oh," Richard said a bit confused. "Oh," he said once again realizing why Thad had taken his time in answering the question.

"Yes 'oh' but if it's okay with you I'd like to not talk about it," Thad said before stuffing his mouth with chicken.

They stayed remained quiet even after Richard's plate had arrived. "By the way, where were you today during rehearsal?" Richard asked Blaine just as he finished his own Chicken Alfredo.

Blaine looked up, semi-uncomfortable.

"David and Wes said it was personal," Thad reminded Richard with a small glare.

"Oh right," Richard said before turning to Blaine, "Sorry, man."

"Don't worry about it," Blaine said finishing his water. He stopped, thinking of how to put the situation into words, "I don't want to say it's personal as in me, but personal as in the person who is involved."

"That new kid?" Richard asked.

"Yes," Blaine said, continuing to eat, hoping Richard wouldn't ask more questions.

Thad looked over at Richard, silently telling to not push the subject anymore. He finished the remainder of his food before speaking. "Well, I'm going back to my dorm. I have a few reading assignments to do before going to sleep. Blaine, the Council will talk with you once we decide on the second song for Sectionals. Goodbye, gentlemen."

He picked up his school bag, nodded at both of them and made his way out of the cafeteria.

"I'm stuffed," Richard said leaning back and unloosening his tie.

Blaine looked at him, before sighing. He trusted all of the Warblers, they were honestly the brothers he'd never had. He'd grown up with two older sisters and both his parents were only child's so no cousins. The events of last year had brought the Warbles more closer and united as a team.

"You okay?" Richard asked.

"The boy who came here today," Blaine said slowly playing with his napkin.

"What about him?"

"He's from Lima. I can't help, but shake the feeling that he may be going to the same school as him."

"Well, you never know. I mean, how many high schools are there in Lima?" Richard asked trying not to lift up Blaine's spirits. He knew who Blaine was talking about, but preferred not to mention him. He tried to remember what the "spy" looked like even though it didn't really matter much to him.

"Valid point, but Lima isn't that big, I think. I've never really been there."

"You should talk to David and Wes," Richard recommended. He hadn't been too involved in the events of last year. Nonetheless, he wanted to help Blaine in some way. He just didn't know how, so his only suggestion was to speak to the people who were more involved in the events of last year.

"I don't know, Wes and David won't be too happy," Blaine said taking a deep breath. "If I tell Nicholas though he will just tell me to stay away. But what if he does go to the same school as Kurt?"

"You should have brought this up when Thad was still here, he's the one with the most reason out of the group," Richard said trying to lighten up the mood. He reached for his backpack, before looking at Blaine. "So what are you going to do?"

* * *

><p>"Lima? Are you sure?" Thad asked from his desk, looking at David and Wes who were sitting at the edge of his bed.<p>

"Yes," David assured him. "We don't want to jump to any conclusions, but it could be possible that-"

"We don't know that," Wes cut in quickly. David resisted very hard not rolling his eyes. After their double date with Farrah and Alicia, they'd run into Thad as they made their way into the Seniors floor. David and Wes filled in Thad about their visitor which led them to where they were now.

"Blaine didn't say anything to me," Thad mentioned still deep in thought.

"But he has to know by now," Wes argued back. Neither of them said anything else after that.

Finally, with a deep sigh and standing up, David asked, "So what do we do now?"

"For the first time, I have no idea," Thad said turning back to the textbook in front of him.

Wes and David looked at each other, knowing that was the end of the conversation and walked out of Thad's bedroom.

* * *

><p>"I can't wait to see what Sean comes up with!" Jeff said nearly jumping from all the excitement.<p>

"Me neither, this is going to be good. We could hold auditions after Thanksgiving in New York and meet over the summer for rehearsals," Nick said taking out his Blackberry to write everything down.

"And now that we have a name we can inform the Warblers about it and maybe one of them might want to join," Jeff said as they began climbing up the stairs to their dorm rooms.

"I must say the name- it just goes perfect with the kind of music the band will be making."

"So you really like it, then?" Jeff asked a bit nervously as they reached the second floor of the dorm building.

The school had a weird setup for dorms. The senior bedrooms were in the second floor, meanwhile the juniors were in the third. The school thought it fair that seniors have less stairs to climb in order to get to their rooms. Freshman and sophomores were in a different building, closer to the library which was no more than a ten minute walk from the classroom building.

"Yes! Even Sean, although I must admit Sean has a unique taste. Did you see he was wearing mismatched socks?"

"Um no," Jeff trying not to laugh.

"I'm exhausted; I'm going to bed early, I have AP Calculus tomorrow morning," Nick said once they landed on the third floor and walking over to his own room. "Good night."

"Night," Jeff said back, suppressing a yawn. He wasn't too tired yet so he walked towards the end of the building where the common room was.

He found Blaine sitting by the piano, not really playing just pressing keys at random.

"Blaine," Jeff called as he got closer, making the other boy turn around.

"Hi Jeff," Blaine said before smiling.

"So what happened to the spy?" Jeff asked, leaning against the wall near the fireplace.

Blaine gave him a confused look before laughing. "Oh, Kurt. He wasn't a spy... well not really. He was just checking out the school and also happens to be from out rival choir group. Big misunderstanding."

"Oh. Does the council know?" Jeff asked nervous as he had been the one to inform them that Kurt was a spy.

"Yes," Blaine nodded.

"Something bothering you?" Jeff asked after Blaine went silent for a while.

"Just thinking," Blaine said before muttering, "about someone."

"Someone, eh? Is it Kurt? Don't think none of the Warblers missed the looks you kept throwing at him throughout the number."

"What? No! I don't even know him that well," Blaine said defensively.

"Then?"

Blaine knew Jeff, unlike Nick, wouldn't give up until he knew. With a sigh, he looked at the left couch on the center of the room before saying, "I was just thinking about Sam."

"Wait, Sam as in Sam Evans?"


	2. It's Time

_**"You know you really don't have to do this," Kurt's voice cut through his thoughts.**_

_**Blaine looked sideways to find Kurt looking at him intently."No, I want to be here for you. It was my idea in the first place for you to confront this guy. This wouldn't have happened."**_

_**"You don't really know that," Kurt said as Blaine drove towards McKinley. "Are you sure it's okay, for you to miss class back at Dalton?"**_

_**"Yeah," Blaine replied carelessly.**_

_**"Turn left here," Kurt said after a moment of silence.**_

_**When he did he could make out McKinley in front of him. It brought back memories of his old school and suddenly he wondered if he really could do it. Courage, he told himself.**_

* * *

><p><em>Three <em>_days __since __the __Warblers __had __performed __'Teenage __Dream' __in __the __Seniors __Common __Room.  
><em>_Three __days __since __the __name __Sam __Evans __had __been __spoken __again __in __the __halls __of __Dalton __Academy.  
><em>_Three __days __before __Blaine __would __have __to __go__ to __McKinley._

* * *

><p>"Maybe it was just a false alarm," Nicholas Hoult said, his piercing blue eyes looked at the Council, Jeff, Nick and Richard. His black hair was untidy since he'd barely had time to fix when he'd been dragged out by the other Warblers for an emergency quick meeting while Blaine had been showering. So far, they were the only ones who knew of the connection Kurt held to Blaine. Well, the possible connection as they were still unsure if Sam Evans did attend McKinley.<p>

"Why do you say that?" David asked before Thad or Wes could.

"Well, just yesterday twice I asked him to stop humming_ Teenage Dream_. He went out for coffee with Kurt and I know he's been texting nonstop with him. Also, he hasn't brought up Sam since Monday, I tried talking to him on Tuesday, but he said there wasn't much to talk about." Nicholas told them.

"He was probably just overwhelmed," Thad said stretching his arms out. "Whether he's said it or not, a part of him will always care for Sam. Knowing someone from where Sam is currently at brought a lot of possibilities. I think he's realized that it wouldn't be wise to go looking for him."

Wes nodded slowly, before looking at Nick and Jeff. "What do you two think?"

Jeff glanced at Nick before shrugging, "I don't know; I just don't want to see Blaine hurt."

Nick nodded before adding, "Blaine's been through a lot. Even though he's told us it wasn't Sam's fault, he was still part of the whole thing. I guess if anything Blaine never thought he'd cross paths with him again."

"But he hasn't," Thad said. "We just know Kurt is from Lima which is where Sam is at."

"As long as Blaine stays away from Lima things can go back to being just the way they were," Nicholas said. He looked over at Richard who had his hands folded in front of him and was listening intently to all of them. "You haven't said anything."

"I don't have much to say," Richard replied with a slight shrug. "Blaine was only wondering if there was a chance that Kurt attended the same school as Sam. And come on, what are the chances that Blaine will ever step foot into McKinley?"

The rest of the Warblers thought about this for a moment before nodding and closing the meeting.

* * *

><p>Trent Nixon and Flint Wilson both stepped out of AP Calculus and began walking towards the library. "Two problems she says, it'll be a piece of cake," Trent said haughtily, "Each problem has a set of twelve questions and we're supposed to go into detail for each one."<p>

"Tell me about it," replied Flint, whom looked much older for his age. Although he was a junior, he was always being mistaken for a senior and once even as part of the school staff. "Last year rehearsals for the Warblers were increased to four times a week before Sectionals. Who knows if this year's Council is planning the same."

"Either Thad or Wes will want to, they both looked up to the guidelines Marcus, Tom and Jake had set for last year. Sleepless nights, here I come," Trent said before letting out a sigh.

"Do you know if you're going home for Thanksgiving?" Flint asked as they stepped inside the newly renovated library. The library was now two stories high, with the two additional underground floors, a movie room, top of the line computers available and a newly added Jamba Juice and Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt to the small café shop on the left side of the library.

"We're spending Thanksgiving in Cincinnati this year," Trent told him, the smell of new still lingering about the place even though it'd been finished months ago. The librarian, one of the few women who worked at Dalton, glanced at them briefly before continuing to scan a pile of books.

"I guess I'll be flying out to Vermont solo," Flint said as they found an empty table and sat down.

"I think Matt is going home too," Trent commented as he took out is Calculus book to get started on his homework.

Flint didn't say anything as he spotted Thad with Richard on the other side of the room talking with Nick and Jeff. "I think Jeff and Nick are in trouble again."

Trent looked up, before looking towards where Flint was looking. "Those two never learn. I thought they'd keep a low profile after hiding Wes' gavel. Specially since they got off easy. Wes had every right to report them to Drew."

Small laughter flowed from the other group and both Richard and Thad stood up to leave. "Maybe they're not in trouble after all if they're laughing," Flint commented before pulling out his French-English Dictionary from his bag.

"Maybe not yet," huffed back Trent.

* * *

><p>"Hey, I thought you'd be in the cafeteria having lunch," Blaine said looking up from his laptop as Nicholas entered the room the room.<p>

Nicholas shook his head, walking over to his bed. His bright blue eyes looked at Blaine before asking, "Why aren't you having lunch?"

Blaine who'd began humming as he typed, stopped and looked at Nicholas. "Oh, I'm meeting up with Kurt today after school so I need to finish my AP World History paper since it's due first thing tomorrow morning. What about you?"

"I had an early lunch since Ms. Seymour let us out early." Nicholas lied not wanting to know that the Warblers were holding secret meetings behind his back. He took off his blazer and set it by his desk. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Not really," Blaine said as his fingers moved quickly across the keyboard. "Just one more page and I'll be done with this paper."

"I think David said he'll be sending out a group text message to all the Warblers informing us that we have an additional practice tomorrow at five-thirty." Nicholas said not looking away from Blaine.

"Okay," muttered Blaine who was suddenly interrupted by his cell phone. Nicholas knew by now that Blaine hardly stopped working on a paper to answer a call or message. But this time, he immediately reached out for his phone, a smile appearing on his face. His smile disappeared as he read the text he'd received. He typed back a quick reply before slouching down on his bed.

"What's wrong?" Nicholas asked walking over to his dresser.

"Nothing. Kurt just text me to inform me he won't be able to make it today after school since he's helping out his dad with something." He looked at his laptop before closing it. "I'll finish this later, think I'll go get something quick to eat at the cafeteria."

Nicholas nodded and watched Blaine leave the room.

* * *

><p>"Testing, one-two, one-two," Nick said into the microphone before letting Jeff speak into it.<p>

"Sounds okay to me," Jeff said before plugging in his bass guitar into the sound system.

"Okay, on my cue just play for me," Sean said, who had his laptop out in front of him. Nick went over to stand by him. Sean put on a pair of professional headphones and passed another pair to Nick. Nick took them, as Sean gave Jeff a thumps up. Immediately, Jeff began to slap the bass to the tune of 'Gives You Hell'. He performed for a minute before Sean motioned for him it was okay to stop.

"Awesome," Sean said as he began picking up his stuff. "I'll let you know when I'm done. If I'm not done before we go on break for Thanksgiving, I'll make sure to email it to you."

"Yeah, that would be great. We already have my brother Caleb getting the word out, but the video and fliers will be more helpful," Jeff said as he put down his bass guitar down.

"Thanks for agreeing to help. Now let's talk about your payment," Nick said as he took out his phone.

"Payment?" Sean asked confused.

"Yeah, you didn't think we'd have you do this for free?" Nick said as he began making some calculations. "We'll be doing the printing, but you'll have rights over the logo for the meantime until we set a price to buy it."

"Listen, I'm glad I can help, don't worry about payment," Sean said picking up his closed laptop. "If you manage to make it big then we'll talk about a payment, deal?"

"Sounds reasonable," Nick said after a moment and shook hands with him. Jeff high-fived Sean as he made his way towards Nick.

"This is so exciting," Jeff said nearly jumping up and down. "If things go as planned, we might be playing a gig on New Year's Eve!"

"Well, it's a good thing you have me as your band manager and that a lot of my family works in the music industry," Nick replied before grinning up at Jeff.

"Not only that, but as my best friend as well," Jeff said leaning in to give Nick a quick hug. Nick smiled, before glancing at his watch.

"Come on, we have twenty minutes left before lunch is over," he said and both left the auditorium in high spirits.

Once inside the cafeteria, Jeff spotted Thad's roommate Joshua Nichols with his boyfriend Matt Ryan.

"Hey guys" Nick said stopping in front of their table. Jeff smiled at the couple who were sharing a bowl of strawberries.

"Hi," Matt said smiling at both Nick and Jeff. The three of them had Greek and Roman Mythology class together; Matt was a junior, while Joshua a senior.

"Sit down," Joshua said motioning to the two empty seats in front of them.

Nick and Jeff both took a seat and waited for one of the waiters to come take their order.

"Nervous about college applications?" Nick asked Joshua.

Joshua shook his head. "Not really, they should be a piece of cake. A Dalton diploma nearly ensures you that you'll get in to your first choice."

"Not to mention all the extracurricular activities you have and 4.0 GPA ," Matt added smiling.

"True," Jeff said, before his attention went to the waiter who had arrived.

"Nearly, everyone here has a GPA of 3.80 or higher though," Joshua said as he took a strawberry and bit into it. He fed the remainder to Matt. "So when do we get another impromptu performance?" Joshua asked with a grin as he took another strawberry.

"Well, they're kind of impromptu performances so we usually don't know until the last minute," Jeff said, while Nick nodded beside him.

"How's the council this year by the way? Thad isn't too strict is he?" Matt asked.

"Not always," Nick said grinning. "He and Wes could pass off as twins with the way they run things. David is more relaxed and tends to ease the mood at times," Nick said as afterthought.

Joshua and Matt grinned before Matt turned to Joshua. Matt's eyebrows went up before he pouted at Joshua. Nick and Jeff understood that they were talking to each other without saying anything as they did it all the time. Which tended to leave some people to believe they should be a couple. Nick and Jeff were just really good friends who knew how to understand one another without having to say anything. Seeing someone else do the same thing as them made them see why people would see them as a couple. It was just two people who were in sync with one another.

"Sorry," Joshua told Matt. "I'll try my best to stay tomorrow for the whole lunch hour. Well I have to go now and meet with Mrs. Reynolds."

"Okay," Matt muttered just in time to meet Joshua's lip for a quick goodbye kiss. "Senior year sucks. Joshua barely has enough time to eat lunch these days what with events, college applications and passing his classes to worry about."

"At least he has you though," Jeff said just as his onion soup arrived.

"Yeah, but I worry for him next year when he goes off to college," Matt said. _Without __me_.

* * *

><p>"Do you ever not text in your spare time?" Trent asked James as he went over and sat next to him in the common room.<p>

"I'm a popular guy, can't help it," he said grinning. Trent rolled his eyes before glancing at the big grandfather clock on the right side of the wall.

"Did they ever fix it?" he asked out of nowhere.

James looked up, shrugging and then holding up his phone again as it rang.

"Oh, hey it's my manager, I'll be back," he told Trent as he got up and walked towards one of the windows.

"Minnie! How are you?" James said into his phone.

"Flooded with work as always. Lots of companies want you to model for them, but I promised you only the best. However, because I know you have school and that singing boy band of yours I picked you out a quick and easy photoshoot in two weeks," Minnie's high pitch voiced came from the phone.

James laughed, "I'm not in a boy band, it's a school a capella choir group."

"Well, I still think you should be in one," Minnie said, James could just picture her grinning. "Oh, I bet Marco knows someone in Sony Records who could help you out with that."

"Thanks, but right now I have my plate full with school, the Warblers, girls, and modeling. So who am I modeling for by the way?" he asked going back to business.

"Oh right, Abercrombie and Fitch again. They loved you in their Summer photoshoot, so they asked if you could come back for this year's Winter new line. I still haven't told you the best part yet," Minni said excitedly.

"What is it?" James asked

"They're paying you $800 for the day!" Minnie shrieked, since he'd only gotten $450 for the last photoshoot.

"How- you are amazing! How did you get them to agree on that price?" James asked now showing his excitement.

"Might have had to lie a bit about how you'll soon be doing commercials for a tiny company called "Calvin Klein" and thus will be in more demand so if they wanted to stay on your good side they should pay up."

"In that case, maybe you should start looking for some commercial opportunities for me," James said thinking this would be a great way to get his acting career started.

"Really?" Minnie exclaimed, followed by the sound of keys being pressed at a fast pace. "This is perfect! Leslie called me a few days ago saying they need a male model for an H&M commercial. With her recommendation, I'm sure you'll get cast. If not, you might be able to still model for them and they're international as opposed to Abercrombie and Fitch and Banana Republic."

James let out a small chuckle, as a bell ringed nearby. "Well, whatever you can get me, I'll take it. Now I have to go to class. Bye, Minnie."

James walked back to where he had been sitting only to find Trent dozing off. James smiled before nudging him lightly, "Dude, you didn't hear the bell? Come on."

"Right," Trent got up with a deep sigh and followed James out of the common room.

* * *

><p>"Let's review on the last events which led to the fall of Rome," Professor Mirchoff said from the front of the room. Everyone in the room seemed to hang on to his every word, Blaine on the other hand kept looking between Mirchoff and his pocket watch. If things had been going as planned, in twenty minutes he'd be driving off to meet Kurt at the Lima Bean. But Kurt had canceled, unfortunately. <em>Maybe tomorrow<em>, he thought.

He began to doodle on the side of his notebook, although he knew he should probably be taking notes on everything Mirchoff was saying. He'd just plead to Trent to let him go through his notes later. His thoughts however began to wonder off and before he knew it he was thinking about Sam.

_Damn it_, he cursed to himself internally. He shouldn't be thinking about him. Sam had left him, well Dalton, but that still meant him. He knew how the rest of the Warblers felt about Sam, they all saw him as the guy who used Blaine for his own amusement and then left. When he really thought about it there was no other way of putting it. Sam had been the one to make the first move and Blaine had let himself fall for Sam. How was he supposed to know that Sam would end up regretting and leave? He should have known better though. After what he had already been through he should have known it wasn't going to be easy.

"Mr. Anderson!"

He glanced up quickly from his notebook, to find that everyone else was already leaving class. Mirchoff was walking towards him. "As much as I like devoted students in my class, today I must ask that you leave on time as I have a faculty meeting for which I must prepare."

"Sorry, sir," Blaine said picking up his bag from the floor and grabbing his books from the desk. He walked out as fast as he could, trying to put his books inside his bag at the same time.

"Need any help?" he heard from ahead and looked up to see Nicholas there.

"Do you ever go to class?" Blaine asked, grinning, as he handed his textbook over. He now managed to open his bag all the way and place his notebook inside. He took the textbook back from Nicholas and put it in, before zipping his bag closed.

"I figured since you weren't doing anything after school you might want to come have dinner with us out of school?" Nicholas asked as they began walking out of the classroom building.

"Us?" Blaine asked confused.

"Richard and Thad are coming, also a few guys from the Drama Club and Roger from the Art Club," Nicholas said from the top of his head. "Oh and I think Brad might be meeting us there since he knows the owner, so we can get a discount or something."

"Yeah sure, thanks," Blaine said as they entered the dorm building. "I finished all of my work early, since I thought I was going to-"

Blaine stopped talking and patted Nicholas on the back to look where ahead where a tall, thin girl with long brown hair was standing. She wore a tight strapless purple dress, black blazer and nude leggings. Her perfectly manicured hands held on a white Chanel handbag. On top of her long hair was a simple black laced headband and a necklace of pearls on her neck. Nicholas did a double take, before they both walked over to her.

"Sylvia, what a surprise to see you here," Nicholas said slowly leaning over to give her a hug. Blaine followed and smiled at her.

"Well, this is awkward," Blaine finally said after the three remained silent for a while avoiding eye contact.

"I thought the Warblers had rehearsals at this hour," Sylvia said looking nervously around the front entrance of the dorm building.

"We did, but the council canceled it about a month ago," Blaine said. "Are you here to see Thad?"

"I-" Sylvia began before she was cut off.

"Sorry I'm late," came a voice behind both boys. They looked back to find themselves face to face with Kevin Hill, a senior mostly known for his family coming from old money. "Shall we get going?" he said extending his arm out to Sylvia. He nodded at Nicholas and Blaine before Sylvia waved goodbye and walked out of the building with Kevin.

"When did that start?" Blaine asked after they'd left.

"I have no idea," Nicholas said shaking his head and beginning to walk towards the stairs.

"Should we tell Thad?"

"Maybe he already knows. I don't know, Thad likes to keep his personal life to himself."

"Even if we don't tell him, he's going to know. Sylvia is going out with Kevin, the only guy who's hooked up with more girls than James himself."

"Well, James is still a junior he could break the record next year."

"Guys are gross," Blaine said once they landed on the third floor.

"And yet you seem to be attracted to them," Nicholas said playfully, dodging a small kick from Blaine.

"Shut up."

"We'll be meeting by the gate in and an hour and a half and then leave, okay?" Nicholas said once they reached their dorm room. "I'm going to be in Chace's room in the meantime."

"See you later, then." Blaine opened the door to his room and dropped his bag next to his bed. He was still slightly disappointed he wouldn't be meeting up with Kurt today. He'd taken a liking to him. If he was being honest with himself, it felt nice being a mentor. Knowing that he could help someone who felt lost at times. What he'd managed to know about Kurt in the past days had shown him that Kurt was strong, but he had been seeming to reach a limit. He'd gone through that as well, so he was glad he could be there for Kurt as opposed to him who had had to deal with it alone. At the same time he admired the strength Kurt had. He hadn't had that back in his old school, which was why he had run away, hoping to never to look back.

He sighed realizing that maybe that's what Sam had done. He was scared and didn't know what to do, so he did what any scared person would have done: run away.

* * *

><p>Thad was warming up for his usual afternoon run on the left side of campus, a few yards away from the Senior and Junior dorm building. He was running somewhat late since John Dempsey, a fellow Warbler, held him back after their last class. In the end he skipped going to his dorm and instead went to the gym to change into his physical ed uniform.<p>

A few other seniors who he usually ran with joined him as he was halfway done warming up. He had his back facing the dorm building, so he didn't see Sylvia walk out with Kevin's arm around her waist. The other seniors did and began catcalling at them.

One of them, Jackson White, yelled, "Get some, Kevin!"

Thad heard Kevin's laugh before he yelled back, "Manners Jack!"

Thad shook his head, continuing to focus on his workout before he heard one of the guys mutter, "Of course, Kevin would have a girl drive all the way from Crawford Day to go on a date with him."

At the mention of Crawford Day, Thad froze before he spun around quickly. It was easy to spot the girl on a campus full of boys. And there was no denying he recognized her. His ex-girlfriend of eight months, whom he'd broken up with just three weeks ago, Sylvia Brown.

"Thad, come on," Jackson patted him on the back. "We're all ready to head out to the field, you coming?"

Thad looked at Jack before he glanced towards the main building where Kevin and Sylvia had walked to together. "Yeah, let's go."

He put on his headphones and pressed 'Play' on his iPod Nano, quickly, losing himself to Mayday Parade.

* * *

><p>Wes glanced at his weekly scheduled he composed every Sunday night after he talked with Farrah on the phone for a good hour. In his head he was already halfway through working on next's week schedule. David came into the room in a hurry before patting him on the back.<p>

"We might have another problem on our hands," David said placing one hand on his hips as he regained his breath.

"I always thought being in an all-boys school would mean no drama," Wes said to himself, closing his eyes. "Now what?"

"Rumor going around is that Kevin Hill is dating Sylvia," David said quickly. "Actually, it's not a rumor, I was just in the main office printing out some papers for Brad when I saw them. Together. He had her by the waist, Wes. By the waist!"

"I get the picture, David," Wes said. "Okay, this week has been beyond stressful. First, we got that spy from New Directions only to find out he's been spending more time with Blaine since then. Which, I am not saying it's a bad thing if Blaine starts dating but he is our competition. Second, Sam comes back into the picture after six months. Third, Nick and Jeff have been too quiet the last couple of days. And now this. I feel bad for Thad, but this is his problem. We are going to sit back and let him deal with it, understood?"

David glanced at him before his eyes landed on Wes' schedule. "'Research Tufts University Choir Group'," David read out loud. "What happened to Harvard and Yale?"

Wes closed his binder before casually saying as he stood up, "Research, nothing more. Yale and Harvard are of course my parent's first choice, but I'm just looking. Nothing wrong with that?"

"Of course not," David said before grinning. "Look at you, being rebellious."

"Wes, rebellious?" came Richard's voice from the doorway. "Did he forget to color coordinate his sock drawer again?"

Wes glared at him, while David let out a small laugh.

"Sorry, man," Richard said with a smug smile before shrugging. "Did you hear about Sylvia and Kevin already?"

"Yes," Wes said facing his desk again before turning around after a moment of silence. "Should we talk to him?" he reconsidering after a moment.

"He won't want to," Richard said lightly. "We're in the Warblers together and we tell each other everything. Most of us didn't find out he and Sylvia were through until two weeks ago. If it hadn't been for Nick and Jeff letting it slip, we would have probably thought right now Sylvia was cheating. Which by the way, for someone who almost got banned from Crawford, Jeff seems to know a lot of what is going on at that school."

David grinned at this as he walked over to his bed. "Nick's cousin goes there, I've never met her though."

"Oh," Richard said. "Well if we notice Thad acting strange then we should probably talk to him."

"But what do you consider strange?" David asked grinning again. "He's almost as strict and organized as Wes."

"There is nothing wrong with being neat," Wes countered, even though he knew David was only teasing him. "Who knows what would have happened to this place if there wasn't a little organization around!"

"So Mike and Fred nearly set on a fire a few things around here, no big deal!" Richard said before they all began laughing.

"Or broke a vase or two," Wes added.

"I'll be surprised if Drew doesn't have a mental breakdown by the end of the year," Richard mused to himself.

"More like by the end of the semester," David said looking up from a book he was reading. "I swear Josh from last year nearly cracked."

"Well last year we had the Hendale brothers wreaking havoc left and right," Wes said unable to stop the scowl that formed on his lips as he mentioned the Hendale brothers.

"Come off it, you only don't like them because one of them had their eyes set on Farrah as well," Richard said.

"Don't tell me you wouldn't be jealous of a guy trying to put the moves on your girl?" Wes asked haughtily.

"Technically, she wasn't your girl yet," David commented from his bed.

"Of course, I would be! Your case with Farrah is different than mine and Abigail. Abigail and I have been together for three years. You've barely been with Farrah for four months."

"But I've liked her longer than that," Wes stated as he glanced back at his schedule. "Great, I've wasted ten minutes now. Ten minutes I could have been using to study for my Philosophy class." He reached out for a hard cover book on his desk, before walking out.

"It's just not the same," Richard stated again before walking out of the room.

David continued reading his book on his bed as if nothing had happened. Fifteen minutes later, when he finished reading the chapter he was on he closed the book. He stood up and stretched out. He began to take off his uniform, when he felt his phone in his pocket. He looked at it and realized he had six text messages, two missed calls and a voice-mail. All from Alicia.

_Two hours ago: _"**Sylvia just dropped the bomb. She's going on a date with some Kevin Hill. Do you know him?**"

_Two hours ago:_ "**Wait, better yet, does Thad know Kevin?**"

_One hour ago: _"**Sylvia is going to Dalton for a date with Kevin.**"

_One hour ago: _"**SYLVIA. IS. GOING. TO. DALTON!**"

_Twenty minutes ago: _"**Do not let Thad out of your sight, understood?**"

_Five minutes ago: _"**DAVID MARCUS THOMPSON, THAD BETTER BE WITH YOU AT THIS MOMENT!**"

Quickly, David texted back, "**Of course he is. Just keeping him busy!**"

Followed by another text message to Thad, "**Katy Perry has a new single out!**"

"Aw, crap," David said to himself before he ran out of his room in search of Thad.

* * *

><p>Thad was at least 30 yards ahead of everyone. All he kept seeing in his head was Sylvia and Kevin. Together.<p>

"Thad, wait up! Olympic tryouts aren't for another year!" he heard one of the guys yell at him.

Without glancing back at them, he began running the opposite way towards the bleachers. He went through the back and ran by himself for another five minutes before he finally collapsed under a tree.

Breathing heavily he slowly made his way back to the gym. He didn't even bother changing. Just grabbed his bag and began to head back to the dorms. After he'd finished drinking a Gatorade, he took out his phone. He had three missed calls and a text message from David. He opened the text and laughed. Of course, David would text him about something silly as a new Katy Perry single.

He ran up the stairs to the second floor and headed to his room. Joshua wasn't in the dorm yet. Of course, most of the time he wasn't, he tended to be in the junior floor a lot with Matt. He flopped in his bed wanting nothing more than to just fall asleep. However, he felt sweaty and gross. He grabbed some clean clothes, his shampoo and soap, and walked over to the showers at the end of the hall.

It wasn't until he stepped out of the shower some thirty minutes later that he felt he could no longer hold inside what he was feeling. It also didn't help that when he walked back into his room David was waiting there for him with ice cream.

"No, please," Thad began as he walked over to his bed.

"It's just ice cream," David said nervously.

"You know about Sylvia, don't you?" Thad asked without looking at him. "The whole schools knows, I bet."

"Are you-"

"Drop it. I'm fine. Can you leave now? I have homework to do."

David looked at him for a while longer until he realized Thad wasn't going to budge. "Fine. Eat the ice cream though and just come find me if you do want to talk."

Thad didn't say anything but continued to stand next to his bed.

"Oh and there is no new Katy Perry single," David finally added after a moment silence before he walked out.

Thad let out a sigh, before throwing away the ice cream. He walked over to his dresser and took out his safe box. He opened it and pulled out a cream colored envelope. _Thad_ was written on the front. He turned it ready to finally open it, but stopped. He couldn't open it. It was too late now. Sylvia was moving on and he was still here holding on the letter she'd written him days after their break-up. He hadn't opened it since receiving it. He could only look at and think of her. Think of the one girl he had actually considered being the one. With another deep sigh he stashed the letter back in the safe box and placed it back on his dresser.

* * *

><p>Blaine walked with Nicholas back into campus after their dinner off campus. Thad had canceled at the last minute saying he had too much homework and college applications to work on. Blaine and Nicholas both suspected it had to do with Sylvia. Most of the other guys that had gone were currently in the junior's common room hanging out. Blaine, however, still had to finish his AP paper and Nicholas was exhausted.<p>

"I'll catch up with you," Blaine said to Nicholas just as his phone started ringing. Nicholas recognized the ring tone and guessed it was probably Kurt, but didn't say anything simply nodded and left.

"Hey," Blaine said into the phone after he answered. "Had a good time at the tire shop?"

Kurt didn't reply back only sighed. "Blaine," he said his voice quivering.

"Yeah?" Blaine now asked concerned.

"Something happened today. I know we've only known each other for a few days, but I feel safe talking with you about pretty much anything."

"Okay. So what happened?"

Another sigh followed by a deep breath. "Dave kissed me."

It took Blaine a while to process this. "Wait, isn't Dave the guy you told me has been bullying you since your freshman year?"

It was quiet on the other line for a moment. "I did what you told me, I confronted him today when he purposely smacked my phone out of my hands and then slammed me against the lockers."

"Oh, Kurt."

"...I couldn't take it anymore. So I followed him to the boys' lockers to demand what his problem with me was, aside from being gay. I may have insulted him, but I was standing up to him as you advised me to. I told him that I was proud of being who I was and that he was simply scared because he didn't have the same confidence I had. Instead of hitting me he kissed me and then he tried to again, but I pushed him away," Kurt finally stopped rambling as he broke into tears.

"Kurt, please don't cry."

"I'm scared, Blaine," Kurt finally gasped. "That's why I canceled today; I wasn't with my dad. I was just home, by myself, thinking. Ironic how my number one homophobic tormentor happens to be gay."

"It's okay to be scared. I would be too if the guy who has been making my life a living hell kissed me. I don't have much experience in these kind of situations so I don't know what to say, I don't think anyone does really. I am so sorry. I never in a million years thought this would happen. I appreciate you confiding this with me, Kurt, because I want you to know that I am here for you."

"I think you're the only person I can really tell without being judged or wanting to come to McKinley and cause a fight."

Blaine suddenly stopped pacing, which he hadn't realized he'd be doing. "That's it. I should go talk to this Dave guy."

"I just said I didn't want a scene-"

"Yes, I know. But Kurt, it's obvious he's confused and must be feeling alone. He's in a town and a school where openly gay people like you are treated horribly. He's afraid to be himself. Maybe if you and I were to show him that he can be himself. And if people mistreat him that he won't be alone. Just like you're not alone because you have me."

"You don't know Karofsky, Blaine. He's a jock. If he's in the closet it might take a long while for him to finally accept who he is."

"That's why, I think I should go talk to him. This could be a good thing. Maybe then he'd stop bullying you so much."

"That would be nice," Kurt muttered. After another long silence, he spoke. "Fine. When can you come?"

"Tomorrow is fine by me, let's say at 11am?"

"Deal."

They changed the subject immediately and proceeded to talk for another hour or so. Before they hung up, Blaine asked Kurt if he'd be okay. When Kurt reassured him that although he was still a bit shaken up he'd be fine he hung up.

Blaine suddenly got a knotting feeling in his school when he realized what he'd gotten into. He was going to McKinley tomorrow.

The next morning, Blaine woke up early, got dressed and left Dalton close to seven in the morning. The nearly two hour drive to Kurt's house would give him enough time to try to come up with something to say to Dave.

Kurt was outside his house in the driveway waiting for him. Blaine looked at Kurt carefully trying to determine if he was okay. Although, Kurt look like he might not have slept well and wasn't talking as much, Blaine concluded that Kurt was just really strong. Once Kurt stepped into his BMW, they sat in silence for a moment. Kurt look over at Blaine and tried to smile, but ended up just staring at him.

"Everything's going to be fine," Blaine said reaching out to pat Kurt's shoulder. This got a smile out of Kurt. "So, do you want me to drive or you?"

"You should drive so you can go back to Dalton afterward if you want. I can catch a ride with Finn or go to Mercedes' place," Kurt said putting his seat belt on.

"Okay," Blaine said taking a deep breath and turning on the engine.

McKinley looked like any other high school in Lima. Like the one he'd attended when he'd been a freshman. High school was where people defined who you were if you let them and Blaine had been defined as the weak gay kid. And he'd let that be him. So when his mother told him his father had started the transferring process to Dalton, Blaine decided it was time he became himself. Fitting in at Dalton had been easier than he thought. There were no labels and everyone was required to wear an uniform, so as to show a unified student body with no exclusions. Of course, the Warblers were an exception to this as they were the school pride. Not to mention the "it" crowd and somehow Blaine had become a part of it. They welcomed and accepted him.

Then one day after spending some time hanging out with Matt and Joshua they introduced him to Matt's cousin, Sam Evans. He'd never seen Sam around due to the fact that Sam was a junior and Blaine a sophomore, so they lived in different buildings. It was like if he'd had his eyes opened as he now Sam nearly everywhere he went. It wasn't hard to miss the five-six, athletic, short cut sandy blonde hair that sometimes appeared brown and his porcelain teeth smile.

When Blaine stepped into McKinley he almost expected to run into that same boy whom he'd last seen earlier in the year for one last time. He didn't though. Instead as they were walking towards an outside gated staircase, Kurt pointed out a table on the courtyard.

"That's the Glee Club table," Kurt said looking at his friends from a distance. Blaine looked at the table and did a double take. There sat Sam, very close to a pretty blonde cheerleader. It had to be Sam, he just knew it. Except, this wasn't the same Sam he knew. This was a new Sam. He'd grown out his hair, bleached it and was now sporting a football varsity jacket. He could only assume that the cheerleader was most likely his girlfriend.

Blaine took a deep breath and let out a shaky gasp. Luckily, Kurt didn't hear him as his attention was somewhere else. They began climbing the stairs, when Kurt spoke, "Thanks again for coming."

"Don't worry about it," Blaine replied. "Just let me do the talking."

"There he is," Kurt said when he looked up.

Blaine saw Dave walking towards him, before he assured Kurt once again, "I got your back."

And he did. He put aside Sam for a moment, because this wasn't about him or Sam. It was about Kurt. He'd deal with his emotions for Sam later.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm cutting the chapter short because I really wanted to update this story. I know there isn't much SamBlaine yet but that is to come in the future chapters. So, sorry! Anyways, reviews would be great. **

**JD Bloom**


	3. Confessions

Sam froze on his tracks, stopping in the middle of the hallway when he spotted the blue blazer with red piping. He knew that blazer too well, he'd worn it for nearly three years. Kurt always stood out at this school because of his extravagant outfits, but that blazer just didn't fit in the hallways of McKinley. He watched as Blaine opened the front door of the school and Kurt stepped out. Blaine seemed to hesitate for a moment before he stepped out as well.

_Okay, don't panic_, Sam told himself as he walked into the empty choir room. This had to be the worst week of his life... well aside from maybe last year when he left Dalton. First, he had Quinn demanding to know if he was having an affair with Coach Beiste. (Which he wasn't) Secondly, he hadn't thought Kurt would actually drive all the way to Dalton to spy on the Warblers. Lastly, what in the world was Blaine doing in McKinley?

Had Blaine finally tracked him down with the help of Kurt? Or had Matt caved and told Blaine where Sam was? No, Matt wouldn't do that to him, they were family. Something else had to be going on. From what he'd gathered since leaving was that Blaine knew Sam had moved back to Ohio because Matt told him. Also, that the Warblers had found out he lived in Lima. That had to be it, the Warblers! They must of told Blaine and when Kurt went to spy on them he must of asked for him. Kurt hadn't said anything to him though. Truth be told they actually hadn't spoken much to each other since Kurt let him go from being his duet partner. It also probably had to do with the fact that he spent nearly all of his time with Quinn now even thought they weren't officially dating. At least not yet...

He had to talk to Matt. He pulled out his cell phone, looked up Matt on his contacts and pressed 'Call'.

* * *

><p>"I should skip class more often," Joshua said into Matt's ear as his hands tangled in Matt's blonde hair.<p>

"You should," Matt said before kissing Joshua deeply.

The two boys were in Joshua's room, making up for lost time from the past few weeks. Joshua and Matt hardly got to spend time together nowadays, what with being in different years and classes. However, Joshua had decided he'd had enough and told Matt he was going to skip his fourth period class and to meet him in his room.

Matt's hand began to unbutton Joshua's white long sleeved shirt as Joshua's mouth trailed Matt's jaw before sucking at his neck.

"Don't leave a hickey," Matt said out of breath. He felt Joshua grin before he led a trail of kisses down to his collarbone. Matt had long lost his shirt since he'd arrived. Finally, unbuttoning the last of the buttons on Joshua's shirt he slipped it off. Immediately, he tugged at the muscle shirt Joshua had underneath.

"No need to rush," Joshua said with a smirk, before his dark brown eyes met with Matt's blue ones. "Thad said he was having lunch with the council after class. No one is going to interrupt us."

"You never know," Matt muttered as he watched Joshua slip the muscle shirt off. His hands were about to reach for Joshua's tanned skin when his cell phone began to ring.

"And I spoke too soon," Joshua cursed as he let himself fall back onto his pillow.

Matt took out his phone, without bothering to check who it was before answering impatiently, "Yes?"

"A heads up would have been nice," came Sam's voice from the other end.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked trying to keep his voice steady, not being able to believe that Sam was calling him at this precise moment.

"What do I mean? What is Blaine doing here in McKinley?" Sam nearly shouted into the phone.

"What?" Matt asked loudly trying to get up quickly but lost his balance and fell off Joshua's bed.

"Matt!" Joshua cried quickly sitting up and helping Matt up.

"I'm fine," Matt said taking a few steps back. "My dog died," he said slowly before walking out of the room. A moment later he walked back in. "I'm shirtless."

"What are you talking about? Is that Joshua?" Sam's voice asked.

"I'm going to have to call you back, mom," Matt said before hanging up.

Joshua looked at him with confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just got caught by surprise," Matt said sitting down on Joshua's bed.

"When did you get a dog?" Joshua asked suddenly.

"Last week," Matt said looking for his shirt. "I'm really sorry. I, forget about the dog, yeah?"

"Are you sure?"

Matt could tell Joshua was concerned, but confused at the same. "Definitely," he said before leaning in to kiss him. "Let's just go back to where were."

Joshua smiled before pushing Matt down onto the bed. His left hand slid down Matt's stomach to the front of his pants. He felt Matt instantly get hard again at the touch of his hand. He cupped him resulting in a small groan from Matt. Just as Joshua's hand was about to unbutton the front of Matt's pants his cell phone rang again.

With a loud groan Joshua got off Matt. "That's it, new rule: no phones when we're together," Joshua said as he put on back his shirt.

"I'm sorry." Matt grabbed his cell phone from the bedside table ready to hit 'ignore' when he saw Mom as the phone kept ringing. "Shit."

"I'm going to get some lunch," Joshua said as he began to do his tie and grabbed his blazer on the way out.

Matt let out a sigh before answering the phone, "Yes, mom?"

* * *

><p>"I'm really sorry things didn't go as I hoped," Blaine apologized for what had to be the tenth time since they'd left McKinley.<p>

"It's fine," Kurt said with a small sigh. "It's more than anyone else has done."

Blaine looked at Kurt and understood what he meant. It was one thing for someone to sympathize on what you were going through but another to actually take action. It reminded him of his days back at his former school. Not even the teachers who liked him ever did anything when someone would call him names in class.

"Well, I'm here for you, Kurt," Blaine said reaching out to touch Kurt's hand and give it a small squeeze. He saw Kurt blush and smile at him. "Come on, I don't want you getting detention for being late to class."

Blaine took out his credit card before Kurt could say anything else and paid for lunch. Blaine drove Kurt back to McKinley while they made plans to meet up during the weekend if possible.

"I'll text you," Blaine promised after Kurt got out of his car.

"Thank you," Kurt said before walking towards the front doors of McKinley and walk inside.

Somewhere inside that building was Sam, Blaine thought to himself. Not his Sam, though. A new Sam, one who had clearly moved on while here he was still thinking about him. No, he had it all wrong. Sam had never been his.

_"So are you two like a couple now?" Jeff asked after he'd found Sam and Blaine sitting next to each other very closely in the empty sophomore's common room late at night._

_"Um," Blaine said nervously casting a glance at Sam who seemed the opposite of him, relaxed._

_"I'm just asking," Jeff said as he laid down on the couch across from them, "because my mom saw me and Mandy like that once and asked the same thing."_

_Blaine wanted to look at Sam again to see if he was going to say anything or not. Truthfully, even he didn't know. They'd never talked about the two of them being together. Blaine wanted to say yes, but didn't want Sam to feel pressured. His thoughts were interrupted when Sam finally spoke._

_"Not yet" he asked leaning his head against Blaine's. "But we're getting there."_

_"Yeah," he said smiling and letting out a small sigh of relief. Sam took this as an opportunity to kiss him on the cheek._

_"Come on," Sam said standing up. "I don't want to keep you up late-"_

_"Like last time?" Jeff asked grinning as he stopped texting._

_"Shut up," Sam said before smiling. With his arm around Blaine's shoulder, he led him out of the common room._

Blaine had wanted to ask Sam if he meant about them being an official couple soon. However, Sam had began talking about the two of them not being able to have lunch together the next day since he had to retake a test for his Economics class. Two months later Sam left Dalton.

Blaine let out a sigh as he got into the highway and began his trip back to Dalton. The nearly two hour drive would give him time to think on who he should tell about seeing Sam. Or even if he should mention it at all. His first choice was David and Wes, but he knew they'd be upset that he even went to McKinley in the first place. His second choice was Nicholas although he'd probably just tell him to stay away and not stir the pot. He really didn't want to go to Matt because of Joshua.

They had been good friends when Blaine had first transferred last year. Joshua took him under his wing and continued to mentor him even after he joined the Warblers. He went as far as having Matt look out for him when he wasn't around during classes. And now that he looked back he realized how reluctant Joshua had been to introduce him to Sam. Every time they got together Matt always asked why Sam wasn't with him and Blaine had at first thought he was Joshua's boyfriend. Matt had later revealed that Sam was his cousin, a year older than him and a close friend of Joshua.

Joshua wasn't too happy when Jeff let it slip that Blaine and Sam were having a "secret affair". (Jeff's words not his) Joshua had talked to him about why he thought it wasn't such a good idea. In the end Blaine told him to mind his business and leave him alone. He'd never told Sam, but knew that a similar conversation had gone down between the two of them when Sam showed up one night for their secret rendezvous in an unpleasant mood. After ranting about Joshua for ten minutes Blaine told him to just ignore him. He and Joshua were able to become friends again after Sam left, but their friendship just wasn't the same as it had been.

He got to Dalton around two in the afternoon, already twenty minutes late for his last class of the day. He sat in his car for a moment before realizing he'd have to go through the front desk and Brad would most likely ask where he had been. He stepped out of his car, smoothing out his blazer and headed towards the main building at Dalton. Opening the door slowly, he stepped inside and saw that it was empty. With a sigh he slipped past the front desk and ran down the hallway towards the other side to where the campus was laid out. He slowed down once he got outside again and began heading towards the junior/senior dorm building.

When he opened the door the first person he saw was Joshua who was leaning against the front desk talking to the resident advisor, Drew Kinn. Drew saw him and smiled.

"Blaine, I haven't seen you all day," Drew said stapling some papers from behind the counter. Joshua turned around and smiled.

"Yeah," Blaine responded casting a glance at Joshua. "I need to get something from my room so I'll see you later."

"Sure thing," Drew said continuing to staple papers.

He'd just reached the stairs when he heard Joshua call out to him.

"Don't you have class right now?" Joshua asked taking out his cell phone and glancing at the time.

Blaine nodded. "Don't you, too?"

"Study hall. You just sign in, tell Mrs. Crawford you need to do some research at the library and she let's you go," Joshua replied casually.

"Right," Blaine said as they reached the seniors floor. "I-"

"I'm really sorry," Joshua spoke at the same time. "I know I haven't talked to you much this year specially after what went down last year."

Blaine stiffened for a moment.

"I'm glad we're still friends though," Joshua said with a sigh.

"Me too. You were one of the first friends I made here and I shouldn't have blown you off like that for a boy," Blaine said bitterly remembering Sam with that blonde girl. "You knew he wasn't gay, didn't you? That's why you got mad when Jeff told you about him and me."

Joshua's eyebrows furrowed for a moment. "Sam is gay, he just won't admit it to himself."

Blaine looked at Joshua surprised before nodding. "Yeah, I got that after he insisted we only meet in secret. Or how he didn't want me to tell anyone. Or how careful he got after Dave and Wes caught us making out in my room."

Joshua looked down for a moment and Blaine could tell he was trying hard to keep cool. "I thought I knew him, we'd been friends since freshman year, then you came and he just became a whole different person. I don't think you brought out a bad side to him, but his real one. That's why he ran."

Blaine wanted to tell Joshua so much that he'd seen Sam just a few hours ago. But that it wasn't the Sam they'd known, but a different one. He also didn't understand why Joshua was telling him this now.

"I don't think he left you because he didn't care," Joshua continued after a brief moment of silence. He looked around the empty hallway floor as if someone could be listening. "I think he left because he did."

And suddenly Blaine couldn't take it. He couldn't stand being in the empty hallway with Joshua who had avoided talking about Sam for so long only to now tell him that Sam had cared for him in the end. He couldn't stand how everyone else had acted after Sam left, as if he was going to break any moment. He couldn't stand being in Dalton when he knew Sam was in McKinley this moment. He couldn't stand most of all that after all this time his heart still ached for Sam.

"Blaine," he heard Joshua call out as he walked quickly down the stairs, out of the dorm building and across the courtyard. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized Joshua wasn't following him. He took a deep breath as he walked towards the auditorium.

The auditorium itself was two stories high and a little bigger than the gym. It wasn't used much, unfortunately. Only for assemblies or when it was Dalton's turn to host the Crawford/Dalton annual talent show in the spring. Yet it was always kept open as the art students used the basement inside as storage for their supplies. He walked inside and found the lights on, but didn't see anyone. He walked on stage and went towards the back. Still no one. He went downstairs to the basement and opened the prop room door. He walked inside and began to walk through the corridors full of props that were hardly used. Finally, in the fifth corridor he found a guitar along with a handful of other instruments. He picked it up, ran his fingers through the strings before tuning it up a bit.

As he walked back outside towards the stage he couldn't stop thinking about Sam and what Joshua had said. If Sam had really cared for him he wouldn't have left. Blaine couldn't help but think, contrary to what Joshua had said. _Sam is gay, he just wouldn't admit it to himself._

That's why he's changed himself, Blaine told himself as he walked out into the center of the stage. He glanced at the empty seats in the auditorium, before imagining Sam was sitting in one of the seats. Not the new Sam, but the old one. The one he knew, the one he'd fallen for.

He put the guitar strap around his neck before he began to play a tune to a song he'd spent months learning. Blaine took a deep breath before he began to sing.

**I'm sitting here all by myself**  
><strong>just trying to think of something to do.<strong>  
><strong>Trying to think of something, anything<strong>  
><strong>just to keep me from thinking of you.<strong>  
><strong>But you know it's not working out<strong>  
><strong>'cause you're all that's on my mind.<strong>  
><strong>One thought of you is all it takes<strong>  
><strong>to leave the rest of the world behind.<strong>

**Well I didn't mean for this to go as far as it did.**  
><strong>And I didn't mean to get so close and share what we did.<strong>  
><strong>And I didn't mean to fall in love, but I did.<strong>  
><strong>And you didn't mean to love me back, but I know you did.<strong>

**I'm sitting here trying to convince myself**  
><strong>that you're not the one for me.<strong>  
><strong>But the more I think, the less I believe it<strong>  
><strong>and the more I want you here with me.<strong>  
><strong>You know the holidays are coming up<strong>  
><strong>I don't want to spend them alone.<strong>  
><strong>Memories of Christmas time with you<strong>  
><strong>will just kill me if I'm on my own.<strong>

**Well I didn't mean for this to go as far as it did.**  
><strong>And I didn't mean to get so close and share what we did.<strong>  
><strong>And I didn't mean to fall in love, but I did.<strong>  
><strong>And you didn't mean to love me back.<strong>

**I know it's not the smartest thing to do,**  
><strong>we just can't seem to get it right.<strong>  
><strong>But what I wouldn't give to have one more chance tonight.<strong>  
><strong>One more chance tonight.<strong>

**I'm sitting here trying to entertain myself with this old guitar.**  
><strong>But with all my inspiration gone it's not getting me very far.<strong>  
><strong>I look around my room and everything I see reminds me of you.<strong>  
><strong>Oh please, baby won't you take my hand<strong>  
><strong>we've got nothing left to prove.<strong>

**Well I didn't mean for this to go as far as it did.**  
><strong>And I didn't mean to get so close and share what we did.<strong>  
><strong>And I didn't mean to fall in love, but I did.<strong>  
><strong>And you didn't mean to love me back, but I know you did.<strong>

**And I didn't mean to meet you then**  
><strong>we were just kids.<strong>  
><strong>And I didn't mean to give you chills<strong>  
><strong>the way that I kiss.<strong>  
><strong>And I didn't mean to fall in love, but I did.<strong>  
><strong>And you didn't mean to love me back but I know you did.<strong>  
><strong>Don't say you didn't love me back 'cause you know you did.<strong>  
><strong>No, you didn't mean to love me back.<strong>  
><strong>But you did.<strong>

Joshua watched from the darkness at the end of the auditorium. He'd seen Blaine on stage before he began to sing and walked towards the front door entrance. He hid where the lights were dim and harder for him to be seen.

He saw Blaine sing with his eyes closed the whole time and for a moment his voice broke during the last chorus, but he continued singing. He watched as Blaine stood there with his eyes closed even after he finished the song, before slowly he took the guitar off. He didn't move until he saw Blaine head backstage.

In the back of his mind he couldn't help, but blame himself. If he had never told Sam that he was starting to feel something for Blaine he would have never asked to meet him. Blaine would have probably not gotten close to Sam and all of this could have been avoided. Except he had, which made Sam become interested in Blaine and vice versa. He never thought something would actually happen between them. Then Sam started getting to the dorm late and vague about his whereabouts or who he was with.

With a sigh, he walked outside to the courtyard and looked around at the few students who were walking in different directions. He made his way back to the dorm building, glancing at his cell phone. Fifteen minutes before the last class of the day ended. He walked over to his room and stepped inside. He looked at his bed and then found Matt's school vest at the end of the bed.

Throwing his bag on the bed, he went and picked up the vest remembering what had nearly happened earlier. A small smile formed in his lips as he remembered kissing and being so close to Matt. He loved Matt. Maybe last year he thought he'd felt something for Blaine, but then Matt confessed his feelings for him and everything changed. Maybe Blaine wasn't for him just like he wasn't for him, maybe it was Matt after all. They began dating shortly after that and we're now about to make a year together. Their anniversary was in the beginning of December since they began going out the day after the Winter Social Debutante Ball.

At that moment his phone began to vibrate and when he picked it up he saw it was a text from Kevin.** Pizza. Meeting Place: FMB. 3:30pm.**

Well there went his afternoon with Matt, he put away the vest and told himself to remember to drop it off when he came back. He began to change, realizing he had some twenty minutes to meet with Kevin and the rest of the seniors that were going out.

* * *

><p>Matt stepped out of his class and his eyes immediately looked around for Joshua. He'd become so accustomed to always seeing him waiting for him that it still made him upset when Joshua wasn't outside his classroom these days. He said goodbye to Nick and Jeff who were heading towards the choir room and wished them luck on this afternoon's Warblers rehearsal.<p>

He'd just walked out of the History and Art building when he spotted Blaine. His eyes widened for a moment before he composed himself. He really wanted to just pass by him and act as if he hadn't seen him, but at the same time he wanted to know why Blaine had gone to Lima and McKinley of all places.

"Matt," Blaine spoke first walking over to him.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked motioning towards the dorms building. Blaine nodded and walked with him in silence. This wasn't good as every time he was in an awkward situation or got nervous he'd begin rambling. "You won't believe what Jon did in second period today when Ms. Debston stepped out for a moment-"

"I saw Sam today," Blaine interrupted him loudly.

Matt stopped talking before turning around to face him. He hadn't really expected this as Sam had said Blaine hadn't seen him. "Y-You did?

"Yeah," Blaine nodded. "You knew he was in McKinley, right?"

Matt looked at him for a moment, before taking a deep breath and licking his lips. "I couldn't tell you, Blaine, he..."

"Made you promise. Yeah, I get it. Sam is big on promises," Blaine said and Matt could tell he was upset. He did the only thing he could think of and reached out to him. Blaine surprisingly did not push him away, but didn't hug back either.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

"Nothing, I just saw him for far. I knew it was him though, even if he's changed his appearance. I never thought he'd go blonde, really. Or see him with a girl."

"He's dating someone?" Matt asked surprised since Sam had never mentioned this. Actually, from the last time they'd spoken (not counting today's conversation) all Sam had said was that he was starting to make friends. That was all. Nothing more that insinuated he was actually seeing someone.

Blaine nodded before looking around them, day students going home and others going off to do whatever it was they did after school ended. "At least he didn't see me... I don't know if that's a good or bad thing though."

Matt nodded. "Let's go to my room, come on."

Blaine looked at him for a moment before he opened the door to the dorm building and stepping in. It was loud now that classes were over. It took them a bit longer to reach the third floor and walk towards Matt's room which was at the end of the hallway. He opened the door and noticed Justin's bed was empty.

"Visiting family, be back Sunday night. Cool," Matt said after he found a post-it note on his lamp. "Take a seat," he said to Blaine who was standing by the doorway. After Blaine sat down, Matt went over and locked the door. "Do you remember the night of the debutante ball last year?"

Blaine laughed before nodding. "Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering," Matt answered before grinning. "I'm kidding. It's almost Joshua's and I one year anniversary!"

"That's right! Congratulations."

"Well, it's still less than three weeks away, but I'm already so nervous," Matt said as he stepped back from the mirror he'd been looking at himself from.

"That was a crazy night," Blaine commented with a sigh.

"Why? Well aside from the fact that it was a torture for all the seniors and juniors last year," Matt said as he went over and sat in his bed. "Which reminds me, did you sign up this year?"

Blaine shook his head.

"Oh come on," Matt whined. "Just think of the parties afterward!"

"Why do you want me there? Joshua's going," Blaine said shaking his head again.

Matt pouted. "Please, Blaine?"

If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't enjoy dances and most of the other Warblers would be at the debutante ball, he wouldn't have caved in. "Fine. I'll go see Olsen so I can get written down."

He still had a hard time understanding how the Winter Social Debutante Ball worked even though Sam and some seniors had explained it to him last year. All he understood was that it was a big deal for the Crawford girls and it gave the boys of Dalton a good reputation.

Matt studied Blaine's face for a moment knowing he should try to be comforting him instead of distracting him. Just then his phone beeped from his pocket and he took it out. "It's a text message from Joshua, 'Out with the guys. I think we might head out to Mike's place in Akron.' Great. Absolutely great."

"Come on," Blaine said nudging him on the shoulder with his own. "We can't have you upset, too."

"You're right!" Matt said smiling as he stood up. "Which is why I propose we go out tonight."

"Where to?"

"I don't know. I'm sure someone must know of a party here. Just because we're school prep boys it doesn't mean we don't like to have fun!"

"True, but I don't know how long Warbler's rehearsals are going to be and I have a lot of homework," Blaine said as he thought about it.

"Blaine, come on!" Matt pleaded. "Please!"

"Okay, but we should ask Nick and Jeff to come with us so I don't have to be the designated driver this time," he said.

Matt twisted his mouth as he thought about it before nodding. "Come to my room so we can get ready here after rehearsal."

Blaine nodded, as his phone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw it was a message from Thad to all the Warblers informing them that they'd be having rehearsals at the warehouse. (The warehouse was an abandoned, unfinished building that Crawford and Dalton students used without "official" permission from the school.) This meant David and Jeff had probably come up with a few other steps they could add to their already well rehearsed routine. "It might take me a while to get back since rehearsals are going to be at the warehouse," he informed Matt who was taking off his uniform.

"That's fine," Matt said understanding. "Does that mean next week there will be open-rehearsals?"

"Most likely," Blaine said glancing down at his watch. He still had more than two hours before he had to be at the warehouse with the rest of the Warblers. "Put on some music."

"My Mac is underneath my pillow," Matt said as he decided between a red shirt and a blue polo shirt.

"Wait," Blaine said after a moment. "You only have two Katy Perry songs? And who is Adele?"

"What?" Matt exclaimed loudly before turning around to face Blaine. "How can you call yourself gay?"

"Is she like Lady Gaga?" asked Blaine confused trying to remember if he had heard her music before.

"No," Matt said walking over to where Blaine was before slapping him.

"What the hell!" Blaine yelled as he stood up.

"I'm sorry," Matt said before he walked over to his desk as if he'd simply shook Blaine's hand. "How can you not have heard of her? She won a Grammy award for best new artist. This is her latest album, which was released earlier this year," Matt said as he pulled out two CD cases. One of them was **19** and the other **21**. He stopped as he caught Blaine's expression. "What? I apologized for the slap."

"I hate you," Blaine finally said as he took the albums and slipped them into his bag.

"Promise me you will listen to them and worship the ground Adele walks on afterward," Matt said in a very serious tone.

"I'll let you know how it goes," Blaine responded before he rubbed his cheek. "Ow."

"I may not know how to punch like a guy, but I know how to slap like a bitch," Matt said proudly looking down at this hand.

"Well, I know how to kick like a guy, so watch out," Blaine threatened before he picked up Matt's laptop. "Can I just listen to her songs here?"

"No," Matt said quickly taking the laptop away and playing "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga instead. "You need to connect with her songs... they're very deep."

"Oh."

"Actually, maybe it's not a good idea for-"

"I'll be fine." Blaine said annoyed.

Matt knew he shouldn't feel bad for Blaine because that would only upset him, but it was hard not to. He hadn't expected for Blaine to have seen Sam at McKinley. When Sam called he'd sounded mad and scared that Blaine was there. It made sense now that Blaine had told him he'd seen him with someone else. Sam was scared that his past would get revealed.

"You know you kind of do look like him now, except for the lips," Blaine added after a moment.

Matt raised an eyebrow confused as to what Blaine was talking about.

"Both of you have blonde hair now," Blaine said pointing to his straight, short hair.

"Yeah, except mine is natural," Matt shot back before placing a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "I really am-"

"Please don't apologize," Blaine interrupted. "You shouldn't apologize for his actions, this isn't your fault and I'm sorry I come to you every time I think about him. You're the only one that knows him. If I'm being honest, I guess I think that by talking to you I'll find some closure. I don't though, it just makes me think what I a fool I was for falling for him."

"He liked you," Matt assured him.

"That too. You're the only one who doesn't make me doubt what Sam felt for me. Everyone else just assumes Sam used me and then left. They don't know though that we had a connection."

"Don't let go of that then. Everyone else is telling you to move on because they don't want to see you upset, but I think you should move on when you're ready. Hell, even if it takes you years... although since he is my cousin I don't know why anyone would spend so much time being upset over him," Matt joked.

"That's because he never kissed you like he kissed me," Blaine teased.

"Not listening," Matt said loudly covering his ears. "Not listening."

"All right!" Blaine said laughing before glancing at his watch again. "I'm going to text Jeff to see if he's going to be free, you should text Nick."

"Nick doesn't like me though, I'll text Jeff and you text Nick," Matt said as he took out his cell phone.

Blaine rolled his eyes before agreeing.

* * *

><p>In a packed white 2010 BMW, David along with Wes, Thad, Nick and Jeff drove towards the warehouse even though it was just a 15 minutes walk. A mix of Top 40's songs played from the stereo while Jeff jumped up and down on his seat.<p>

"Did he have sugar?" Wes asked looking at Nick from the rear view mirror.

"Yeah, he had a chocolate muffin before we found you guys," Nick said.

"That's why he didn't want to make eye-contact," Thad said as he put his hand on Jeff's shoulder for the twentieth time since the car ride started.

"Why didn't you stop him?" David asked as they reached a stoplight.

"Because I had one too," Nick replied sheepishly. "Don't worry, he'll use up all his energy once we start rehearsal."

"Yeah, I will," Jeff said excitedly, while looking out the window. "Whoa, that guy has the coolest hat ever!"

"He's wearing a stetson hat," Thad said frowning.

"Yeah, the Doctor wore one once," Jeff said while continuing to stare out the window.

"The who?" both David and Wes asked.

"Don't," Nick said shaking head.

A somewhat moment of silence passed as they neared the warehouse, with Jeff pointing out every few seconds something from outside. They arrived at the warehouse just as Kelly Clarkson's song "My Life Would Suck Without You" finished playing.

"Oh no," David muttered as he spotted a red 2010 Honda Fit parked a few feet away.

Thad however spoke before David could do or say anything else, "Hey, who is that?"

Their attention was caught on girl with blonde hair standing outside the warehouse. She was slender, her curly blonde hair was tied in a messy ponytail, and of medium height.

"What is she doing here?" Nick spoke up as he quickened his pace. "Victoria?"

The girl looked up, a confused look on her face. "Nick?" She looked at the rest of the boys before smiling shyly. "Hi, Jeff."

"Sup Vic!" Jeff said loudly raising his hand for a high-five.

"Sorry about him," David said as he pulled Jeff back.

Victoria let out a small laugh as she glanced at each boy before Nick reacted. "Right, sorry. Guys, this is my cousin Victoria, she's a sophomore. Victoria, this is Wes, David and Thad, also known to us as the Council of the Warblers."

"Oh you're all Warblers!" Victoria said with a big smile on her face. "That is so cool; I saw you perform at the end of last year during the goodbye ceremony for the seniors."

"Thanks," Wes said with a small nod.

"So what are you doing here?" Nick asked.

"I made the quad!" she said proudly before glaring at him. "You'd know if you talked me once in a while. Anyways, I don't think I'll be part of it much longer since I don't have a date for the ball."

"What?" Thad finally spoke. "Why not?"

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Sylvia wants every girl, aside from the freshman of course, to go to the ball and have a date. She told me if I don't have one before the months ends I can say goodbye to being part of the squad."

"Harsh," David commented, still keeping a grip on Jeff's shirt as he nodded.

"That's ridiculous," Thad said disapprovingly.

"No, that's Sylvia," Victoria replied back before gasping. "I'm sorry, I know she's girlfriend, I mean ex-girlfriend, just sorry."

"It's fine," Thad said quickly shaking his head.

"I have to get back though," Victoria said after a moment's pause.

The other boys nodded before they also followed her inside the warehouse. Inside were approximately twenty girls in Crawford Day cheer leading uniforms, deep green and cream white, moving about the place. There was also music playing loudly from iPod dock with big speakers.

"Come on, ladies," came the voice of Sylvia from a megaphone making the boys turn to their left where she was standing on a chair with a stop-watch on her hand. Her eyes immediately turned in their direction, she stepped off the chair and walked towards them. Victoria quickly left the boys and walked to her place with the other girls.

"Well, well," Sylvia said with a smile. "If it isn't the boys."

"What are you all doing here?" Wes asked as he looked past her to find Alicia. "You know we get rehearsals practice here on Fridays."

"Yes, well the girls soccer and rugby team took over our field. And the gym is under construction because someone damaged the front entrance," her eyes glared at Jeff who tried not to giggle, but stopped when he met her eyes. "The only place I could think of was to come here, so, I got us permission to practice off campus."

"Okay," David said nodding, "but our boys are coming in at 5pm."

"We'll be done by 4:30pm," Sylvia said as she cast a quick glance at Thad who had become very interested in his phone.

"Oh there's Farrah, I'm just going to go say-" Wes began.

"I said we'll be done by 4:30pm," Sylvia said in a warning tone.

"Fine," Wes replied meeting her stare before quickly waving at Farrah.

"Oh, I also have to talk to you," her voice gave off as Thad looked up to meet her eyes. "I need to talk all three of you after I finish," she clarified.

With that she walked away, talking into the megaphone ordering the girls to get in formation once again.

David and Wes both looked at each other with disbelief. They could not understand how Thad had managed to be with this uptight and high-maintenance girl for so long. Then they remembered that Sylvia had recently dumped him and decided not to say anything else.

Although the warehouse was big, the Elites (aka the cheerleader's team name) we're using up more than two-thirds of the place.

Sighing, David and Wes walked over to the far end of the warehouse. "I guess we'll have to begin here and do a quick run through after the girls leave," David said as he clapped his hands.

"Sure," Jeff and Nick replied at the same time as they all began to warm up.

"Thad," Wes said getting his attention after he'd caught him staring at Sylvia. "Come on."

"Yeah, okay," Thad said before turning his back on her and listening to David and Jeff explain the new step they'd be practicing.

* * *

><p>Richard was in his room, trying to get some rest before he had to head over to the warehouse for Warbler's rehearsal.<p>

The only getting him through at the moment was the thought of going home for Thanksgiving and seeing Abigail. They'd met at summer camp before he started at Dalton and he'd fallen in love. It took a few weeks to get Abigail to agree to go on a date with him. She was hesitant to begin a relationship because she attended school in California. However, he convinced her that they would be able to work it out and they had. They had now been together for a little more than three years. They spent their summer and some holidays together. This year his family was going to fly to California for Thanksgiving so he knew he was going to see her.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He debated whether to answer or not, but finally stood up and opened the door. He found Drew standing there with a small smile.

"Hey," Drew said.

"Yes?" Richard asked. "Are you looking for James?"

"No, actually you," Drew said. "Can you help me with something."

Richard didn't want to be rude so nodded. "Sure."

"There's a package downstairs that got delivered by accident to our building, but it actually belongs to the freshman/sophomore building," Drew said with a shaky voice as he led Richards towards the staircase.

"Um, okay," Richard said confused. Why would Drew climb two set of stairs just for his help? Specially, since he could hear people moving about in the senior's floor. With a sigh he continued walking down the stairs until he reached the first floor and looked up. He scoffed before he began to laugh. In the front desk was Abigail with a grin on her face.

"Did you do this?" he asked pointing at Drew.

"Yeah," Abigail replied. "I wanted to surprise you and I know girls aren't allowed in the boy's dorm so I couldn't go up there myself."

"Aw, Drew come on," Richard said after he'd given Abigail a quick kiss.

"Sorry, I would have gotten into a lot more trouble than you," he said as he moved back behind the front desk.

Richard nodded before he took Abigail's hand and leading her outside to the campus.

"What are you doing here?" he asked facing her.

"Surprise!" she said cheerily before they kissed again. "My Nana told me we were having a getaway this weekend and asked me to pick the place... so here I am."

"Your Nana asked you to pick the place and you picked Westerville?" Richard asked with raised eyebrows. "I love you."

"We can hang out this afternoon and Nana won't mind if you join us for dinner," Abigail said as they walked around the campus. "I'm sure Nana will invite you to spend tomorrow and part of Sunday with us, too!"

"That'd be great," Richard replied. "We have Warblers rehearsals this afternoon though, from five to seven."

"Do you think they'll mind if I tag along?" Abigail asked.

"I hope not or else they'll be missing their beat boxer," Richard replied smugly before he pulled her in for another kiss. "I thought we weren't going to see each other until Thanksgiving."

"Me too, but like I said Nana just get these ideas nowadays," Abigail stated as she stopped and leaned against the junior/senior building.

"I've missed you," Richard said as he hugged her for the third time. They hadn't seen each other in person since late September. His family lived in Virginia and hers in California, complete opposites sides of the country, so seeing each other as frequent was hard.

"Me too," she said leaning against his chest. "I think I've almost convinced my parents to spend the Holidays in New York since Melissa is there for college."

"Really? That would be great."

"We could go to Time Square for New Year's Eve."

"I don't care where we are as long as we are together. Come, I'm going to get changed and then I can show you around Westerville before we head to the warehouse."

"Okay," Abigail said nodding as they both walked towards the front entrance of the building.

* * *

><p>They had just finished getting the hang of their new step (left step, left step, front step, fingers snap and tilt head to the right) when Thad heard Sylvia announce that they were finished. He looked over to Wes and David who nodded at him. They told Nick and Jeff to begin setting up their platform for their rehearsal as they went to talk to Sylvia and then spend some time with their girlfriends.<p>

Thad watched Sylvia say something to Alicia and Farrah who nodded before they went over and sat down to wait for her. Sylvia then began making her way towards them drinking water out of a bottle.

"Sylvia," he heard another voice call and when he looked to his left, where the other girls were exiting the building he saw Kevin standing there before he walked over to her.

"Not cool," David said as they watched Kevin give Sylvia a long kiss.

Thad didn't say anything as he watched Kevin slip an arm around Sylvia's waist. Wes cleared his throat and Sylvia pulled back before they heard her say to Kevin to wait. She made her way towards them with a small smile.

"So as you all know the Debutante Ball is coming up," she said ignoring the fact that David and Wes were giving her cold looks. "The DJ we've hired unfortunately can't be there until eight and we start six, so I would like the Warblers to perform."

The council looked at one another before David nodded. "Sure, we've been wanting to perform 'Baby Got Back' for a while"

"There are going to be parents there," Sylvia said in a serious tone, not amused by David's joke.

"Guess MC Hammer is out of the question then?" David asked grinning.

Sylvia looked at him before she smiled. "We can make this worth your while, we've still got money left over."

"He's just joking," Wes spoke up, "and you don't need to pay us."

"Thanks," Sylvia said. "If you could pick two songs, that would be great. Just e-mail them to beforehand so I can make sure they're fit."

"Is that it?" Thad spoke up suddenly.

Sylvia nodded and Thad took that as his cue to walk away from them, exiting the warehouse in a matter of seconds.

"I'll text you both my e-mail later," Sylvia said when she turned to face David and Wes.

"We know it's not in our place to say anything," David spoke, making Sylvia stop from turning around as she was about to leave. "But we don't think it's a good idea for you to flaunt your new relationship with Kevin in front of Thad. It's one thing to break-up with him-"

Sylvia scoffed. "He didn't tell you?"

"Tell us what?" Wes asked suddenly interested even though he had said he wouldn't be getting involved.

Sylvia's eyes watered before cleared her throat. "He broke up with me."

"But then, why-"

"I don't know," Sylvia spoke her voice once again back to normal. "Now excuse me, if I'm- if I'm making an attempt at getting past that."

David and Wes glanced at each other guiltily before David muttered, "Sorry."

Sylvia nodded before simply saying, "Don't tell Alicia or Farrah about this, I want to be the one to tell them."

Both boys nodded and Sylvia left to where Kevin was talking to Alicia and Farrah.

* * *

><p>Thad knew he was being silly for acting the way he was. He knew he had to stop acting like he was hurt over the breakup specially since he'd been the one to break up with her. Except he was hurting inside. He remembered the way her face fell when he said he wanted to break up. The way she'd looked down before asking if it was a joke. He'd shaken his head before stating that she was a distraction to his dreams before meekly adding that if she wanted to she could say she'd broken up with him. He knew Sylvia was the Queen B at Crawford Day so if word got around that she'd been dumped it would damage her. Which made sense that now she was seeing Kevin. "No one's even broken up with me," she'd said softly before nodding. "Okay, I broke up with you if people ask." And then she'd left. Three days he'd gotten found a letter in his bed and because he knew it was from her he hadn't read it.<p>

He stepped outside the warehouse and took a deep breath. There were still a few Elites around in groups, most likely waiting for their ride home. He spotted Victoria with talking to another girl with red hair. He remembered what she'd said about Sylvia's threat to kick her off the quad. He knew that it was most likely because of him. Sylvia always acted out towards her posse whenever she was upset. No doubt it also had to do with the fact that she was in charge of the Debutante Ball this year as Chair of the Activities Committee.

"Victoria," he said as he approached the younger girl.

She looked at him and smiled. "Hey."

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Victoria nodded and the other girl that had been with her left. "What is it?" she asked.

"I was just wondering if you wanted me to escort you for the Debutante Ball?" he asked.

She opened her mouth in surprise before smiling. "Really? That would be awesome."

"Yeah," he said confidently. "I'll look you up on Facebook."

"Victoria King," Victoria gave him her name.

"Good, well I got to go," Thad said pointing back to the warehouse.

Victoria nodded at him and he walked back. As he entered the warehouse he saw Sylvia and Kevin walking out through the back door. David and Wes were too busy talking to Alicia and Farrah so he walked over to where Jeff and Nick were nearly done setting up.

"Hey," he said speaking to Nick. "I hope you don't mind, but I asked Victoria if I could court her."

Nick stopped walking and looked at him. "Very funny."

"No, I'm serious," he said.

"You don't know her though," Nick said taking a few steps closer to him.

"So? A lot of guys volunteer to be escorts," Thad said.

"She's my cousin, though," Nick's voice came out unfriendly.

"Hold on," Thad said shaking his head. "You don't want me to court her?"

"No, that's not the problem," Nick replied. "I just don't want you using my cousin as your rebound!"

"What?"

"Yeah, we know you're upset over Sylvia and Kevin," Nick began while Jeff suddenly began walking to him.

"I'm not looking for a rebound," Thad said loudly. "I just thought I could help her out, but if you don't want me to I'll just tell her that you don't want me to take her. Then if she gets kicked off the quad she can blame you."

Jeff watched as Nick stared at Thad for a long moment before he sighed. "Fine, I'm trusting you not to hurt my cousin."

"I'm not looking for a rebound," Thad repeated. "I just don't want her to get kicked off because Sylvia is being unfair."

Nick nodded. "Thanks, man."

Thad let out a sigh just as Richard walked in with a tall blonde girl.

"Hey," he said looking at the girl who he'd seen in many pictures and met once before at a birthday party. "Abigail right?"

"Yeah!" Abigail said cheerfully. "I hope you don't mind if I crash your guys' rehearsal."

"As long as you don't reveal our moves to the competition," Thad said jokingly.

"I promise not to," Abigail said as she waved at Nick and Jeff.

"Although, Blaine is probably already doing that," Jeff said and they all looked at him. "What he's been talking to that spy a lot."

"He's not a spy," Thad cleared Kurt's name for the hundredth time. Jeff shrugged before he went to grab a chair for Abigail.

"I hope you don't get bored watching us do one-two step moves," he told Abigail.

"She won't," Richard spoke. "Blaine can't rehearse without singing."

They all laughed and watched as more Warblers arrived for rehearsal.

* * *

><p>Rehearsal went well, in Blaine's opinion as he put on his coat. It had been more fun since everyone kept trying to impress Abigail with their moves. An hour after they'd began Mirna Williams, the Warbler's singing coach, stopped by. She only checked up on the boys once a month to make sure the group was doing what they had to. Since there was a good chance they wouldn't see her until Sectionals, Thad asked for her opinion on doing Train for the competition which she thought was a good idea. She gave them a couple suggestions for their ballad, too. In the end it had been a good night.<p>

Since Nick and Jeff had agreed to go with him and Matt out that night he would be driving them back to Dalton. Nicholas tagged along, since he was his roommate. As they all got in his green Volvo van, they heard Thad call out for him.

"Can I get a ride back? David and Wes are taking Alicia and Farrah out for dinner before driving them to Crawford Day," he said breathlessly since he'd ran from the warehouse.

"Sure, get in," Blaine said.

"Thanks."

Blaine knew the ride to Dalton would be short, so he decided to use up this opportunity to tell them about Sam.

"By the way where were you the whole day?" Thad asked after he'd finished putting on his seat belt.

He could feel everyone in the car looking at him.

"I wanted to talk to you all about that," Blaine said as he neared a yellow light. "I saw Sam today."

The car went instantly quiet before Nicholas exclaimed, "What?"

"You went to McKinley?" Thad asked.

"Yes, I-" Blaine started before stopping. "Wait, how do you know he's in McKinley?" The car went quiet once again. "You all knew he was in McKinley?"

"We weren't sure how to tell you," Nicholas said cautiously.

"What do you mean how to tell me?" Blaine said feeling upset and angry at them. "Since when?"

"Beginning of the year," Thad answered. "This is why we didn't tell you. We knew you'd go looking for him if you knew where he was."

"No, I wouldn't," Blaine shot back. "And I didn't go looking for him, I saw him by mistake."

"Did you two talk?" Jeff asked curiously from the back seat.

Blaine shook his head. "No, I just saw him, but he didn't see me."

"Oh," Nick said and let out a small sigh of relief.

"I can't believe you all knew he was in McKinley and didn't tell me!" Blaine burst out again. "How did you all find out?"

Jeff cleared his throat as he looked out the window.

Thad sighed before he spoke. "We're not proud of this, but we may have stolen Matt's laptop and hacked into his Facebook account."

"Why?" Blaine asked as they neared Dalton.

"We knew he was in Ohio and wanted to know why," Nicholas answered. "And why he had left in the first place. All we found out was that he was in Lima."

Nick added, "Also, Joshua doesn't know apparently."

"What do mean?" Blaine asked confused as he parked his car in the student parking lot.

"I accidentally clicked on a message from him during the summer," Jeff answered, "and in it Joshua was saying all these bad things about Sam. Then Matt promised him he wouldn't speak to Sam again because of what he'd done to you."

"But-" Blaine began.

"Yeah, well Matt nearly caught us," Thad spoke quickly. "Jeff and Nick here though managed to ask him about it and he said that it was true. Joshua thinks Matt is angry at Sam and not speaking to him anymore."

Blaine looked down before nodding.

"We're sorry," Nicholas said as they sat in silence.

"Blaine?" Thad asked from where he was. "How do you feel?"

"I don't know," Blaine answered honestly. He really didn't know. He thought he was finally beginning to clear his thoughts after talking with Matt. Bringing up Sam with the rest of the Warblers had changed that though. It just led him to believe that they all hated Sam and would never forgive him for having left without a word. He also felt guilty now for talking to Matt about Sam all those times since the beginning of the year. He didn't blame Matt for promising Joshua he'd never speak to him, but if he was speaking to Sam did that mean Sam had told him why he'd left? "Don't tell anyone else yet, specially David and Wes."

The other boys nodded before they opened the doors and got out.

"Do you still want to go out?" Nick asked Blaine patting him on the back.

"Definitely, I need a good distraction," Blaine said as they neared the main gate entrance.

"Good," Jeff spoke up, "Sandy just texted me to let me know about a party twenty minutes away from here. I think it's a keg party."

"I'm not drinking," Nick said quickly. "I have somewhere to go tomorrow."

"That is perfect," Blaine said as they went around the main building which was closed. "I plan on drinking so you get to be our designated driver!"

"Fine," Nick said laughing.

"Well have fun and get back home safely," Thad said stopping. "I'm going to grab a snack from the dining room."

"I'll go with you," Nicholas said stopping as well.

"Bye," the three boys chorused before continuing to make their way towards the dorm building.

"Blaine do you forgive us for not telling you where Sam was?" Jeff asked nervously.

Blaine sighed looking over at the blonde boy. "Yeah."

Jeff let out a small cheer before throwing himself at him and hugging him.

"Okay," Nick said pulling Jeff off Blaine who was laughing. "I think the more important question here is are you going to tell Kurt you know Sam?"

Blaine stopped laughing as he thought about Nick's question. "No. I don't want to lie to Kurt though, so I think I'm going to ask Sam to tell him."

"Wait, so you're going to talk to Sam?" Jeff asked as he came to a complete stop.

Blaine nodded. "I think it's time we talked. Maybe he can tell me now once and for all why he left without a goodbye."

Nick and Jeff looked at each other unsure after hearing the determination in Blaine's voice.

"But tonight," Blaine said reaching out for both and putting his arms around each other shoulders. "I don't want to think about this. I just want to have fun!"

Jeff smiled first and let out an, "Oh yeah!" as they entered their dorm building and headed towards the stairs to meet up with Matt.

Tonight he would push Sam away from his thoughts and just have fun with his friends. He'd figure out later how he'd talk to Sam. He wasn't going to ask Sam to come out to Kurt, but he'd definitely want Sam to know that he would be honest with Kurt about the fact that they knew each other. He liked being friends with Kurt so he wasn't going to hide the truth from him. He didn't want Kurt to think that he was only being friends with him so he could know about Sam. If he'd learned anything from last year was that secrets didn't get you anywhere.

They reached the third floor which which was loud, most of the noise coming from the common room. The three of them walked over to Matt's room and knocked on the door.

"What up?" Matt asked as he answered the door in his bathrobe. "Who is ready to par-tay?"

"Please stop talking like that," Nick said as he pushed Blaine and Jeff into the room.

"Whatever, hater," Matt said smiling before he stuck out his tongue at him.

"Jeff's got a keg party we can go to," Blaine said as he took a seat on Matt's desk reaching out for his laptop. "What do you got?"

"A GSA Glow in the Dark Party," Matt said taking his laptop from Blaine and opening up a window. "And it's at Columbus College," he added, "so we can just go there walking."

"All right," Jeff said nodding.

"Let's get dressed then!" Matt said as he pulled off his robe.

"I'm gonna go get dressed in my room," Nick said standing up and Jeff followed laughing.

"I'm going to get clothes from my room," Blaine said as he looked at the information on the party on Facebook.

"Just borrow some of mine," Matt said as he put on pants.

"It's cool," Blaine said. "I'm going to shower and be back in twenty minutes so we can leave before curfew begins. Also, so I can let Nicholas know and he can sneak us back in through the back gate."

"Got it," Matt said as he searched in his closet for another pair of pants. "Oh text those two to wear neon colors and if they need to I can let them borrow some of my clothes!"

"All right," Blaine said standing up and walking towards the door. "See you in a few."

Blaine texted Jeff and Nick about what Matt had said as he walked to his room a few doors down. He opened the door and stepped in. He grabbed his soap and shampoo from underneath his bed and towel from his desk chair. Fifteen minutes later he came back, wet from the shower but feeling much cleaner and awake. He turned on his laptop, realizing he hadn't checked his Facebook profile for a few days now. Even though he hardly used it because he lived with his friends he still felt the need to update it. He sat on his desk chair before typing up the website and logging in. He hadn't really expected any notifications, but was surprised that he had two friend requests and four alerts waiting for him.

He glanced at the page before he saw the recent status update from Matt.

_**Matt Ryan:** Another boring night at Dalton, guess I'll just go to sleep._

He laughed before liking the status, he'd ask him later what that was about. He went over to his alerts, all 'likes' from Nicholas, Jeff, and Richard on his status update about the weather from last week. The other alert was of Kurt approving his friend request. He slowly moved the cursor to the friend requests page. He glanced at the two people who wanted to be his friends before he felt goosebumps. One of the two names stood out the most. A name he'd searched six months ago when he couldn't find the person anywhere. A name he'd asked everyone over and over again about. A name that when he searched through his contacts wasn't there anymore. A name that brought him sadness every time it was mentioned instead of the usual butterflies he'd had before.

There on the screen in small print asking to be his friend was the name:** Sam Evans**.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I really didn't think I'd take nearly two months to finish writing this chapter, so sorry! Next chapter might be a bit fast paced as I'm going to try to get Thanksgiving done so in the fifth chapter we can do the Debutante ball! There will be more Sam and Blaine, I promise! I gave you all just a small glimpse at their 'relatioship'. Also, please, for the sake of the story can we agree that Adele's album 21 was released in 2010 instead of 2011? Her songs will begin to pop up more once Blaine listens to the CD! So yeah, please review, even if to just let me know that I need to update this quickly! <strong>

**JD Bloom**


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